Unfair Justice
by Daruku Janubu
Summary: Within the cargo box of a missing truck, the team found something that would redefine their view on justice. For sometimes, believing you are doing what is right makes innocent people suffer; and sometimes, saving people's lives is not enough to make you their hero.
1. The mission

First crossover for Danny Phantom!

So, **things to take into consideration**:

First: This happens sometime after season 3 of DP (not including Phantom Planet) and the end of season 1 of Young justice.

Second: The pairings are canon and I won't place any slash in this so don't suggest it. But the focus of the story is not romance so if you don't like a pairing, just don't pay it much attention.

Third: I'll make my best to try to update at least a chapter a week, but if I take too long, I sincerely apologize in advance.

Fourth: I'm not a native English speaker so you may find some mistakes in vocabulary usage and grammar. My friend has helped me correct some of them, so I really hope they don't bother you much.

Also, I don't own Danny Phantom or Young justice.

And now, let's get into the story, and hope you enjoy it!

oo

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter one

The mission

* * *

It sounded like quite the simple mission, and he was —later on— willing to accept he was a fool for believing it would be, but to his credit, it did seemed easy. So… the premise: A truck was seen falling down the side of a cliff to the lower woods in an old road by some traveling witnesses. It wouldn't have been very important if it wasn't for two reasons: one, that till now the rescue party hadn't come back with any clues of its whereabouts; and two, and perhaps the most important reason, nobody could actually identify that truck. No transport company could answer for it, no scheduled movements in that particular road; some even mentioned it hadn't been used since the new road was built, you know: shorter stretch, faster delivery. So what was a cargo truck doing in the middle of nowhere with no identification. Batman reached the conclusion that it could only be bad. With the memory of the things the 'Light' had done last New Year still fresh on the heroes minds, they acted even more carefully than they usually did. And so, the mission "Find the Truck" came to be. Localize it, search for survivors and identify its source if possible.

Easy enough, wasn't it?

And for the fourteenth time that day, Wally face-palmed at his naivety for offering himself to be part of the squad that would do the searching. Not that he had plans beforehand, but he couldn't help but wonder, what was Artemis doing at that moment. Since the mission was just for a search party, there was no need for the whole team to go on it. A four man cell was deemed enough. And because of it, the girls took the opportunity to stay behind and enjoy some 'girl time' —or so they called it. Wally wondered if they were having fun, or if they were talking about the guys of the team in secret… maybe Artemis was talking about him?

Wally shook his head attempting to calm his burning cheeks, those thoughts were better saved for later, especially because they always brought a bout of confusion with them; the poor speedster was reluctant to admit it, but he was not entirely sure where he stood with the beautiful archer. Yes they had kissed in New Year… yes, he had wanted to do that for a while… but does that mean that she was his girlfriend now? Did she think of him as a boyfriend material? Did she even consider him worth-?

"KF! For the last time, are you even listening?!" he heard the screaming voice of his best friend in his ear.

"Dude! Not so loud!" Answered the speedster. "You're going to make me go deaf here!"

He heard a mischievous laughter at the other end and could not help but think that his friend was sometimes creepier than he'd like to admit.

"Well, you were day dreaming about _someone_, and weren't paying attention to anything I said for the past five minutes, what else could I have done?" he said innocently as if he wasn't rubbing those facts on his friend's face.

Kid Flash sighed in defeat.

"Ok, so why did you call?"

"I've just finished with this area and there's nothing. No tracks, no pieces, not a single clue that a truck was ever here. How is it going on your side?"

"Mmm… sticks, trees and rocks, nothing that can testify of an accident…" a static noise coming from their ear piece told them of an incoming signal.

"Aqualad to Robin and Kid Flash, how is the search coming up?"

"Empty handed," said Robin.

"Same here," Wally admitted while scratching his visible hair.

A groan on the other side of the line told them that their leader was currently in the same predicament.

"How could a truck suddenly fall and leave no trace of its whereabouts?" Kaldur asked to no one in particular.

"Oh, what if it was a ghost truck!" laughed Robin making KF frown.

"Dude! Come on! There's no such thing as ghosts!"

"Hey, you said the same about magic!"

"That's different!" he exclaimed crossing his arms.

"Yeah, so very different," taunted the boy wonder.

Before they could continue their bantering for long, they heard a heavy —and slightly exasperated— sigh coming from their team leader.

"Listen, we need to focus here, we have to find that truck, whether it's a 'ghost truck' or a normal truck, we must find it as so—"

Suddenly another static sound came from their ear pieces.

"Superboy here… I, believe I've found our target," the confusion in the kryptonian's voice was clear even through the communicator making them wonder if Conner had really found the lost vehicle.

"Alright," answered Kaldur after a few seconds. "Superboy, stay where you are, do not approach the target till we get there."

"Ok." Came Superboy's answer.

"Robin, Kid Flash, head for Superboy's location."

"Roger that!" answered the two friends before ending the communication.

* * *

The three heroes found their friend standing at the top of a hill looking towards something in the forest.

"Superboy, what's the situation?" asked the leader as he came to stand besides his comrade.

"See for yourself," answered the young clone indicating to the bizarre scene all the way down the hill.

"What the…" mumbled KF pulling back his goggles.

Robin stood by his side, the eyes of his mask widening as he took in the scenario.

"Well, perhaps there is something ghostly about this…" he said with slight awe in his voice.

There, with the driver's side almost completely smashed into pieces against a huge tree, laid the lost white truck. The state of the front of the vehicle seemed to differ with the rest of it, since the cargo side was completely undamaged, situation that made the boy wonder marvel on its incoherence. With the speed needed to cause that kind of destruction, the cargo should have at least toppled to the side, yet it came out unharmed.

But what really confused the young team of heroes, was not the truck itself, but the surrounding area it rested upon. There was not a single tire track, not damage in the foliage, no trace of a wildly speeding truck arriving there from the old road miles away. It was so carefully placed, as if it had been there for years and the trees had grown around the destruction. But it was not the case; the truck was far too clean to be old enough for it to be the case.

"It's almost as if someone had placed it there on purpose," muttered Kid Flash walking slowly down the hill.

"Or the truck phased through the forest till it finally crashed against one tree," added Robin as he followed his friend.

"Superboy," said Aqualad turning to his companion with a serious expression. "Any survivors?"

Superboy shook his head.

"No heartbeats, no heat… nothing at all," he said with slight disappointment.

Kaldur placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, offering a small smile to let him know he did a good job. Returning the smile, the two began following their younger friends towards the accident.

-(a few minutes later…)

"Really, it's not a surprising no one survived," commented the boy wonder as he moved around the smashed cabin. He had taken his wrist watch off as he began to take on the scene with detective precision, even getting his hands dirty with the corpse that laid somewhere within the mess of glass and metal that —quite frankly— Wally didn't want anything to do with. "At the speed this thing must have been going, it's a miracle the cargo is still intact."

KF turned his head to the side watching the cargo, more out of being grossed out by his friend's antics than actual interest on its miraculous survival. Unfortunately, his ears couldn't avoid receipting the sounds of dead meat against metal (or at least he thought that was what it was, but in truth, he just was being paranoid).

"DUDE!" he said finally turning to search his best friend with his eyes. "How can you do THAT and not feel totally grossed out?!" demanded the speedster, too used to allowing the police hand those things… you know? Rotting corpses?

"Nah, it's not really that bad, I've seen worse," he added as he moved a piece of something sticky aside. "The trick is to treat the situation with a forensic eye. You've got —for one second— to remember that regardless that the corpse used to be a living person, now it's just a valuable piece of evidence that you must analyze with care."

"Eww…" mumbled the speedster to himself as he saw his friend's back moving around.

"Yeah, I know," Robin said with a small chuckle. Then with acrobatic grace, he jumped backwards towards his awaiting companions, two of whom had just listened to the two friends exchange with amusement. The boy wonder offered a cheeky grin as he showed a few things in his dirty gloved hands. "But someone has to do it, right?"

"What did you find?" asked the leader, fast enough to stop KF from saying something else.

"Our driver's ID and License," he said as his comrades surrounded him. "His name was John Matthews, 42 years old…" there was a pause before Robin frowned slightly at the cards in his hands. "Weird…"

"What?"

"Well, both the date of expiration and the name of the company he worked for are empty, not erased but completely blank. Aside from that, this company ID seems to be real, even got the digital print of the guy and his photo on it." Robin showed the license to his friends letting them see for themselves.

"Ok… so the Driver's license doesn't give us any leads as to whom this thing belonged to, the truck itself has no marks at all… umm… does anyone else get the feeling that this was too carefully laid?"

Everybody nodded at Wally's statement.

"It seems Batman was right to suspect this incident in particular," the young Atlantean turned to look at the cargo with a deep frown. "I guess our best option would be to find out what is inside of that box, but we must be cautious," he turned to his kryptonian teammate. "Superboy, have you—?"

"I've already tried to see inside," the clone said shaking his head in frustration. "But it seems that the cargo container was made of some special kind of material that doesn't allow my x-ray vision to get through."

"Ok… I say that brings the 'suspicion' level up a notch," KF said and the others couldn't agree more, this thing was becoming quite a conundrum.

"Then we enter," declared the leader.

"Oh yeah, let's do this!" said Wally as he ran towards the cargo door, ready to open it at Kaldur's sign only to notice that there was a computerized security lock, he was expecting just a common lock, not top notch tec. "Um, Rob? Could you come here and do your 'hacker' stuff?"

"Just a sec!" exclaimed the boy wonder as he put the evidence in a plastic bag and proceeded to take off his gloves. To the other's amusement, under his dirty pair of gloves Robin had (you guessed it) a new clean pair of gloves. The youngest member of the team took the dirty pair with another plastic bag and folded it carefully to fit his utility belt. Finally, he placed his watch back on his wrist.

"Dude! How many spares do you have there?" asked the speedster.

"Professional secret," declared Robin, laughing softly at the incredulous look in KF's face. "Hey, just cause somebody has to do the dirty jobs, doesn't mean that I like walking around with a souvenir of it on me, you know?" the boy shrugged giving a cheeky grin.

Moving swiftly, Robin arrived to the control panel of the lock and removed the cover lid of the small box. Then, he plugged in his portable computer which soon produced a holographic screen giving him the data he needed to begin his work. With practiced agility, the young teen began typing code after code to try to break the security and open this 'magic' box. Yet, minutes later, the four teens, Robin included, were surprised to find the security system still standing strong.

"Rob, you're losing your touch pal," teased Kid Flash earning a soft glare from his older companions who didn't want anything to distract the youngest as he worked at furious speeds.

"It's not that," commented the boy wonder, never once taking his eyes from the now red screen. "This security is insanely good. It's almost… almost as if they were scared of an expert hacker trying to break it."

The three older friends shared a worried glance; the content of this vehicle must be really valuable for someone if the security system was strong enough to make Robin struggle.

Four minutes later a glorious sound of machinery moving resounded through the place as Robin's screen turned green. The safety lock was defeated! With a satisfied smirk, Robin moved aside to allow Superboy to pull the heavy door, only to see how it went up by itself. The young heroes looked towards the complete darkness of the opened box and turned to each other, silently asking 'What now?'Aqualad soon took a decision and cautiously gave the first steps into the cargo box.

Once the teens were inside, Robin took a small light from his belt but never got to turn it on for weird sound made them all turn around just in time to see the door fall closed. It was so fast and sudden, that Wally barely had time to reach the exit when the door was already closed, slamming his face against the metal. And to make it worse, the sound of the lock turning on once more made them even more nervous.

Knowing that his friend's were going to get tense, Aqualad tried to take control of the situation.

"Robin, light!" he said, waking the young teen from his confusion, yet before he could do something, an electronic female voice resounded through hidden speakers.

"Door closed and secured. Activating: Lights."

Suddenly, strange green lights lit up the interior of the cargo box, allowing the team to see it's contents for the first time.

"Dude…" mumbled KF as his eyes widened. The inside of the cargo box was completely immaculate like a hospital ward. Had the eerily green lights been stronger he was almost sure everything would have been white, except from the few computer like devices surrounding the place. But the most impressive thing was a weird containment unit on the back.

It was in the middle of two metal pillars, and was the only black thing in the whole place. The metal that made it shone a beautiful onyx reflecting the green lights with weird, and almost ethereal, elegance. Immediately, the team felt compelled to get closer.

It was with each step they took that they noticed something change in the environment: the cold.

It was strangely cold, but not just any cold, the kind of cold that no matter how protective your clothes may be, or how many you wear, it still filtrates all the way to your bones. Small puffs of frozen breath came out from the four teens' mouths, it wasn't clear to them whether the unit was emitting the cold or whatever was inside was.

Finally when they were close enough, Robin got to read something carved into the metal that could only be seen when the light hit it the right way.

"Project DP," he said with widening eyes.

"What?" asked Superboy in confusion.

"Here, it says, Project DP," They looked and, surely enough, that was what was written in the metal. "Sounds familiar?" he added with suspicion.

"Project Kr," said the young clone nodding. "Could it be...?"

"Doubtfully," said Aqualad catching on what his friend was thinking of. "Cadmus wouldn't take the risk of moving something so important out of their station. And if they did, doubtfully it would have ended in here."

The others agreed. It couldn't be Cadmus... it wouldn't make sense... but if not Cadmus, then who?

"Robin, do you think you can hack into the computer and find what's inside this?" he said pointing to a control panel close to the unit. Robin agreed and soon he plugged his computer. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Kaldur added to himself.

"Man... who were these people expecting to hack this thing? Me?" Robin said as he fought the firewalls on the system to access the data base.

"Perhaps... after all, you did hack Cadmus," said Kid Flash while looking at the box with apprehension. Last time they found a containment unit in a mysterious lab with weird letters on, they found Superboy. This containment unit wasn't as big... and didn't have the classic tube shape, what could be inside of it?

Superboy felt anxious to say the least. It couldn't be another clone... right? The last one was too unstable; they wouldn't have made another one before him, right? No, his friends were right, it didn't make sense, Cadmus didn't work like this and Dubilex would have told him if there were any more clones. Then who did this belong to?

"Got it!" exclaimed the boy wonder. "Project DP, containment unit... influx of solutions... mmm... weird, there doesn't seem to be any real description of the content, there is only a few warnings to care for the box till they reach their destination. No pictures, no connections, it's as if they didn't want anyone to link the content to anything." He looked up to Aqualad and the others, silently asking what he should do next.

Aqualad closed his eyes and thought their possibilities thoroughly. They could very well leave and call the League so they decide what to do with this, but experience told him that some situations required a closer approach... taking risks was just as important as avoiding them. Last time, they had freed Superboy from a possible terrible fate, who is to say that inside that box wasn't something that would benefit more of their help now than the League's later assistance?

Taking his decision, he looked towards his youngest teammate silently nodding to the boy. Robin nodded right back and typed a few things before the electronic voice spoke again.

"Warning: Opening containment unit."

The sound of an opening hatch filled the silence and everyone hold their breath as the unit's walls slowly lowered themselves to reveal the insides of the box marked as project DP.

The team didn't gasp... they were beyond that.

And Aqualad didn't know it, but his decision was about to change their lives forever.

* * *

oo

I want to give my thanks to my dear friend Sazdx who helped me with my writing.

And I guess this is till next week!

R&R


	2. The prisoner

I don't own Danny Phantom or Young justice.

(Oh yeah, in this story, Danny's family and friends are not dead, they don't die after TUE, eveything is basically the same till D-stabilized with only little changes, so Dan Phantom did not murder everyone. Just wanted to make that clear.)

oo

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Two

The prisoner

* * *

A boy.

A teen.

A human being.

That was the secret content of the black unit marked 'Project Dp'. This boy was the precious cargo of the truck 'John Matthews' died driving. It was almost a cruel irony of fate, that the cargo container was so unscathed while its content lay in such a detrimental state.

It only would take a second for the analytical eye to know the teen's hair must have been a very light color —maybe light blonde or gray— but at the moment it seemed to be covered in dark stains that looked almost green (thought, it could be the lights effect). There was an oxygen type of mask covering the boy's mouth and nose, leaving only the upper part of his face visible. As the heroes looked closer they could see that his expression seemed lax, at easy, as if sleeping, and had he not being completely immobilized, the team would have thought he was in peaceful dreams. But, one look at his form was enough to know the boy must have been as far from that kind of unconscious release as one could get.

Heavy bindings held both arms and legs, forcing this person's torso to hang limply from his shoulders in a very uncomfortable way. His head leaned like dead weight to the front of his body till the point it looked painful. His chest was covered in tight bandages that were stained with the same substance that his hair seemed to be covered in, and they appeared to constrict the boy's chest every time he breathed forcing each breath to be shorter and faster than a sleeping person's normally should. The only clothing the teen was wearing was a pair of worn out black trousers and the remains of what should have been a white belt. But the part of the whole picture that made the team really uncomfortable were the multiple tubes that were inserted into the teen's body. Thin tubes were placed in his chest, neck and arms, each pumping a glowing green solution into his system.

"This… is terrible," said Kaldur in a small voice, unable to hide the disbelief and sadness he felt towards that damaged human being. The boy couldn't have been a day more than sixteen years, around the age of some of his friends, and younger than himself. What could that creature have done to deserve such treatment and from fellow human beings?

"Rob…" the nervous edge on Kid Flashes voice made his friend turned to him. "What are those things?" he asked as he pointed to the tubes. The green substance illuminated the teen's skin with a soft glow almost the same shade as the lights around the place did.

"I-I'm not really sure. The data in here only says that it must be kept on till they reach their destiny but there is no description at all."

"I don't understand… why place a teen in such level of restrain?" asked Kaldur, still not believing the amount of security surrounding that boy.

"Perhaps he is a Meta?" offered KF unnerved by the tubes in the teen's body. Unconsciously, his hands began rubbing his arms; whether it was out of cold or the ghostly sensation of things prickling at his skin, he was not sure.

"Meta-human, Alien, or normal human, doesn't matter. No one deserves to be treated as an experiment. Period." Superboy's voice dripped with bitterness. Everyone knew this was bringing up bad memories for their friend. For the young clone's sake they really should leave that place as soon as possible.

Aqualad decided to take action and turned to his youngest friend.

"Robin, can you release him?"

The boy wonder typed a few codes on his holographic screen before sighing dejectedly.

"I'm afraid I can't." he confessed with a frown bringing everyone to a halt.

"What?! Why?!" demanded Superboy.

"It's the system," he groaned in disappointment. "Whoever made this thing programmed the unit to forbid any access to the locking systems till someone waiting in their destination integrated the other half of the program into the mainframe. Obviously, a measure to avoid any stranger from simply taking him away. Whoever this guy is, they couldn't risk letting him go." He explained as he watched the prisoner's tranquil expression. "I can't complete the program with my portable, it's got great protection, too complex to deal with it here… perhaps back at the mount…"

"No need!" exclaimed Superboy walking towards the 'sleeping' teen.

"H-hey! Super! What do you think you're doing?!" Robin asked turning to his friend with a worried frown.

"What does it seem I'm doing?" said the angry kryptonian cracking his knuckles. "I'm getting him out of there!"

"No!" exclaimed the boy wonder turning to his other friends. "Stop him!"

Noticing the note of anxiousness on their friend's voice, Aqualad and Kid Flash acted quickly on restraining Superboy before he could punch the machine. The clone struggled in frustration, knowing that he could easily push his friends away, but knowing he could hurt them accidently in the process since both seemed to be decided on not to letting him go. That's why he turned to the boy wonder —after all, he asked to stop him— and demanded: "Why not?!" stopping his struggle only to hear the younger teen's explanation.

Robin quickly unplugged his computer and calmly walked to Conner. He was aware that his friend was being over emotional, but understood that it was his right to feel that way. Yet, he was also aware that the situation demanded that they acted with extreme care so they avoid doing something they might end up regretting later.

"Please Super, try to watch the situation a little closer," he asked while walking to the prisoner's figure. "He is not in the same condition you were in."

Superboy looked at Robin, then at the teen and straightened himself a little allowing his comrades to know he was listening.

"Look, when we let you out of that tube, we knew you were fully formed and ready to take on the world —physically speaking. I saw your data, you needed nothing to survive outside of that unit. But we know nothing about him," he pointed to the tubes embedded on the boy's body. "How do we know that this substance is not something he needs to survive?" his expression begging his friend to understand the severity of what he was trying to explain. "What if when you break his biddings, you also deprive him from something vital? You could end up accidently killing him!"

Supperboy's eyes widened. He hadn't taken any of those things into consideration. Lowering his head, he nodded to his other friends letting them know it was safe for them to let go of him. The other two backed from him as he thought about what he was told. He could have done more damage to the boy out of his wish to help. But he truly wanted to… no, he NEEDED to help! Perhaps, a part of him wanted to make up for not having been able to save his 'brother' or perhaps he was just truly disturbed, whatever the case, he felt the imperative need to do something!

"Then… what should we do?" he asked, softly begging for an answer. He knew this team had saved him when he needed them the most, they could do that now. And now, he was part of that team, he would make sure to get that teen out of there with his teammates.

"Just… give me a few minutes, I'll try to see if there's something more around here, any info might be of help, then we'll be able to work from there," said Robin offering a comforting smile, trying to convey some self confidence on his plan. Unable to come with a better idea, Superboy simply nodded and dedicated himself to watch the unconscious boy's figure while the sound of Robin's tinkering filled the cold air of the cargo unit.

Distracting his mind from thinking of his inability to help, the kryptonian allowed his enhanced sight to roam over the teen's sleeping figure, and he couldn't help but grimace at what he saw. There was not a single patch of pale skin that wasn't covered in scar tissue, some clearer than others, some almost completely faded, and some painfully new. Suddenly, a disgusting idea came to his mind, the sick notion that somebody hated this boy so much, they wanted to make sure that he will never be able to look anywhere in his own body without remembering the person that hurt him. He felt sick. How dare they?! Regardless of whom they were, or what that boy may have done!

Treating a… human…?

It was in that moment of doubt about this teenager's species that his enhanced hearing detected something, or more like, the lack of something that should have been present all along. A heartbeat. His eyes widened in realization as he placed all his effort on not simply running to the teen and break him free. His mind raced a mile per hour. Had this boy's heart stopped while he was wondering about what to do? Had he died being Conner only a few feet from him? But…

No…

Now that he thought about it, he didn't hear a single heartbeat from outside of the box. Had he heard anything, he would have launched himself to save whoever was trapped inside; but there was no heartbeat, none from the start. And yet, this creature was breathing, he was breathing into his cold gray mask, his chest moving with difficulty against the bandages. He was alive… alive without a working heart.

Superboy closed his eyes and focused only on the sound of the hearts surrounding him.

For a second, he could only hear the beat of his own heart. He was a clone, somebody's copy. And yet, being an artificially created being, his heart beat. And strongly too. His friends' heartbeats soon joined the sound of his own as he listened closely. His human friend, his Meta-human friend and his Atlantean friend. Four hearts beating, from four different creatures, and yet this being in front of him, lacked such an essential sound, such a vital sound! Yet… he was alive…

How?

The sudden sensation of multiple eyes gazing towards him forced him out of his reverie.

"Superboy?" asked his atlantean friend, a heart beating with the echo of waves, gentle, but strong. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah dude… you look a little pale," said his meta friend, a heart fluttering in permanent race.

"Um? Super? You seem spacey… you ok?" asked his human friend, a heart beating at a common pace, patient but as strong as any of the others.

"A heartbeat…" he said clenching his fist in frustration.

His friends looked at each other in silent confusion.

"I can't hear it," he observed the relaxed expression on the prisoner's face before continuing. "His heart, it does not beat."

Eyes widening in alarm, the other heroes moved to the trapped teen, wondering if they had acted too slowly. Superboy soon corrected them.

"It hadn't, not since the beginning… Remember?" he turned to the confused atlantean. "There were no heartbeats."

Kaldur's eyes widened with realization. No survivors. That's what they had thought before entering the cargo box. But the boy inside… he was breathing, he was…

Robin extended a pair of gloved fingers to the teen's limp head and delicately placed them on his neck searching for pulse. The moment he placed them on the skin, he almost recoiled at the cold that seemed to zip all through his protective gloves to his fingertips. KF noticed his slight flinch and asked if everything was ok.

"It's just… he's really cold…" It took the boy wonder, focused on the task at hand once more and a few seconds later he turned again to his friends with a surprised expression. "You're right. No heartbeat."

With a flustered frown, the speedster asked his friend.

"Then… is-is he… you know… dead?"

The young hero shook his head.

"Wouldn't make sense," he commented almost casually. "Well he is 'deadly cold' and his heart does not beat… But, his breathing pattern doesn't seem to imply that something is pushing air into his body, so he is naturally breathing, so he requires oxygen, therefore he must be alive… right?"

And so, KF asked the question everyone was asking themselves at that precise moment.

"How…?" he almost whispered, face close to panic. "How can someone be alive without a working heart?!"

And as the silence became an awkward one, everyone knew that logic had officially jumped out the window for their speedster friend.

But how could they know the answer to that? It was a puzzle, one worth of a sphinx trial.

"Maybe…" ventured the boy wonder only to receive a severe scowl from his best friend.

"I swear Rob, if you even say something close to 'Zombie' I'll punch you."

Robin raised his hands in a peaceful sign offering a sheepish smile.

"I wasn't going to say 'Zombie' but, how about 'scientific experimentation'? Perhaps those tubes have something to do with that. Whatever the case, I guess this means we really shouldn't take the risk of taking them off till we have a better understanding of the situation."

Patting the still nervous looking Kid Flash —whose left eye seemed to twitch occasionally— on the shoulder, Kaldur nodded to his young teammate.

"Agreed. It's best not to jeopardize this being's life any longer. We should take him back to Mount Justice, there we can call the League and inform them of the situation. We shouldn't risk allowing somebody to retrieve the truck's passenger while we go back."

Robin nodded in agreement, but soon KF(eye twitching once more) looked at their leader with doubt.

"Um… not to spoil the plan and all… but how are we supposed to take this thing back to MT. Justice?"

"Maybe…" Conner's voice came making them turn towards him, he had been thinking quietly for a while. "If we detach the base of the cargo box from the truck… maybe Megan's bioship could carry it back home?"

It wasn't completely fool proof, but it sounded like a plan.

"It could work," Aqualad began walking towards the cargo's door. "Let's get out and call her. We can start working on detaching it after she agrees."

"Hope the girls don't mind the interruption," wondered the Robin, placing his hands on the back of his head.

"Doubt it," said Superboy, walking to the door as well.

"Yeah… let's leave… this place is giving me the creeps!" whined Wally.

And as the friends walked through the door after Robin gave the command for it to open, as they left sharing a small conversation amongst friends, the young heroes failed to notice the slight twitch in the trapped teen's eyes as the sound of leaving footsteps slowly disappear, leaving behind his damaged form in the now dark cargo box; and they failed to see the deep frown that marred his expression, before his body was once more forced into the submission of a dreamless sleep.

* * *

ooo

Thanks for reading! And Thanks to Sazdx who gave this the ok in order to update it!

See you next week!

R&R


	3. Going Back

Thanks to everyone for reading and especial thanks to those who take time to review.

About this chapter, my friend has yet to revise it so there might be a few more mistakes than normal, but worry not! They shall disappear in two days time. I decided to post it now to keep the one chapter per week promise I made at the beginning. Hope you enjoy it regardless of the mistakes.

So, let's start!

oo

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Three

Going Back

* * *

Megan sighed once more as she flew her bioship towards her friends' location. Today was supposed to be a 'girl' day, her first 'girl' day with all the other female members of her team in a while, a time for bonding with them. And it was turning quite well, they were having lots of fun… and then, suddenly, the guys called.

Don't misinterpret her feelings: she was not angry, not at all. She was actually glad that her 'boy friends' knew they could always count on the girls for help, at any moment, at any place… still, leaving her friends when they were in the middle of sharing their most inner thoughts —especially those that involved said boys in them— it was a high price. After all, when will they have another chance like this? The young martian girl groaned softly in frustration. It seemed that since last New Year, everyday was just about missions and missions. It kind of made you wonder why they used to be so keen of having them in the beginning. Now, every moment they had to catch a breath was a luxury, add to that the stress of living a 'normal' live and you got yourself a huge headache.

And talking about headaches…

Megan smiled slightly wondering if any of the boys had developed one since they had called them at the cave. A soft giggle escaped her mouth as she remembered how flustered they seemed on the phone. They weren't speaking clearly and it seemed that Kid Flash and Robin didn't want to be the ones talking so they were continuously pushing it to the other's hands. In the back you could hear Kaldur telling them to speak already instead of playing around. To their defense, Megan knew that the clear laughing of her female counterparts as they heard them fight was probably making it even more difficult for the two boys to take it seriously. Who knew those two could be so shy? Feeling merciful (she giggled at the thought) she asked to speak with Conner. Since they were an official couple already, he surely wouldn't make that much of a fuss over talking with her.

The kryptonian sighed somewhere in the back and finally took the device from his friends' hands grumbling an 'I'll do it' in a way too serious voice. When he asked to please speak with Megan, the martian girl couldn't help but imagine Conner's cheeks turning pink as Zatanna answered 'of course, lover-boy', just to mess with him.

Megan got closer to the computer's intercom and with a smile she greeted her boyfriend, expecting him to say that they were heading back and that the mission was complete. But that was not the case. Whatever sign Conner may have of being nervous soon vanished from his voice as he took a more serious tone. He soon asked her to bring the bioship all the way to where they were at the moment. They had found the missing truck and took the decision that the cargo could not be left behind till the League came for it.

"He would be safer at home," he said. This declaration confused her, for instead of saying 'it', Conner had referred to the content of the truck as a 'he'. But, before she could ask what he meant by 'he', Superboy simply added: "Robin will send the coordinates, please come as soon as you can," and the communication was cut.

Megan felt an uneasy feeling. There was something in her boyfriend's voice that made her worry, as if deep inside, Conner felt truly troubled about something. That's why she decided to go as soon as possible. The girls offered to go with her, but she told them it was better if she went by herself, it'll be better for the bioship to go without the extra weight, especially if she was going to have to carry the boys and the cargo all the way home. Understanding, the girls said they would inform Red Tornado about the guys' whereabouts, but Megan barely even heard them as she left. Something was upsetting Conner, something really important, she could feel it. That's why, as soon as the coordinates were received she left, forgetting even that she still had her hair braided and her face covered in soft make-up (courtesy of Artemis, Zatanna and Rocket).

As the ship got closer to the guys location, Megan felt some weird sensation within her chest. It was as if the closer she got to the designated area, the stronger her uncertainty grew. The feeling inside her chest became heavy and confusing, making her respiration a little difficult. Suddenly, she became aware that those strange feelings were not hers, something or someone was influencing her; a strange energy, really soft, barely noticeable —perhaps subdued, which explained why it was able to penetrate her mental barriers before being noticed. As soon as she noticed this, she became nervous, thinking that perhaps someone was attacking her mind, but this possibility was soon discarded. This energy, it was like nothing she had felt before; definitely not from her friends, but not from an enemy either. A gentle veil was wrapping around her mind, soft fingers prodding around, testing the resistance of her defenses. A sigh escaped her mouth, she felt so strangely safe… and yet, for one second, it made her feel as if she wanted to cry —as if she was witness to the greatest sorrow and despair the world could ever offer— yet as soon as it had come, it was gone and she was back to normal. The energy seemed to have dissipated through the place. The only proof of it having ever been there was the cold sensation surrounding the bioship and the frozen cloud of smoke that left her mouth as she recovered her breath.

The sudden loneliness that invaded her mind made her desperate for anyone's company. So she, being closer to her destination according to the coordinates, began searching for her friends' minds, and once she found them she established a link.

"_Somebody ordered delivery?"_ she asked a little too enthusiastically, trying to hide how upset she was just a minute ago.

"_Miss M!"_

"_Oh, precious green cheeks! I've missed you so much!"_ exclaimed Wally through the link with a joking tone.

"_Megan, thanks for coming so soon. Sorry to have interrupted your free time."_

"_It's ok,"_ she answered to the leader. _"I'm always willing to help!"_

She turned to where she could see her boyfriend stranding over a white cargo box. He looked to the front of the ship and his gaze pierced all the way through till she felt he could see directly into her own eyes.

"_Conner_?" she asked through the link. He was strangely quiet, but his eyes showed deep determination, the kind she had only seen when he was trying to protect his friends, but also a tender sense of compassion, of familiarity. Something big had happened, and the answers she sought were probably inside that box. Silently, she nodded —not really sure if Conner was looking or not— understanding the silent plea within the kryptonian's eyes, and proceeded to position the bioship over the cargo container, morphing the lower part of the ship to produce a group of strong cables that would be able to hold it steady during their travel back.

Having already detached the base of the box from the truck, the boys moved to place the cables on the sides.

"Ok, Robin and Kid Flash, you will go inside the cargo to ensure that the mechanism connected to the prisoner stays functional and nothing wrong happens," the two boys nodded in agreement. "Superboy and I will go with Miss Martian and explain everything on the way back."

"I'd rather go in as well," Conner's voice came from over the box. "Just to make sure."

Looking at the desperate need to help in his friend's eyes, Kaldur knew he could not deny this to Superboy. In the short time they had been here, he seemed to have created a slight overprotective connection with the young captive of the truck. Probably because of the common ground he felt he shared with the teen, being trapped as an experiment. But the leader also knew that they were being a little too trusting here. Yes, it was true that they had found a mysterious and hurt 'human' inside the containment unit, but they knew nothing about said 'person'. The little they had found seemed to have only made the puzzle harder to crack. Who was to say that this creature wasn't really dangerous? What if their enemies had planned for them to find him? What if he was placing the team in danger by choosing to bring him to their home? So many questions, yet no answers.

Still… something inside of him… a little voice inside his head, was telling him he wanted to help this teen, the same way that he had wanted to help Conner. Normally, his instincts didn't let him down so…

"Alright," he said. "Just be careful."

The kryptonian nodded with a small but enthusiastic grin.

Kaldur couldn't help but worry for his friend… Superboy was getting too close to this case for his liking.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure Super stays whelmed," said Robin with his classic cheeky grin.

"Count on us," added KF, placing a hand over his best friend's shoulder as if to reassure their leader that the two could handle it. Kaldur answered with a smile knowing he could trust in them.

The two walked back to the cargo container for Robin to open the box once more, while Kaldur asked Megan to open a hatch for him to enter.

* * *

The brief sensation came once more as everyone went to fit their positions. It was so weird. Megan felt —for an instant— as if she was been attacked… but also, as if she was being comforted. Almost as if someone were to be telling her a terrible story while rubbing her back reassuring her that the pain of it wasn't hers, and she was safe. She was confused, but found that though the pain she could almost touch with her fingertips scared her, she longed for that caring comfort, that protection that seemed to sooth her inner doubts. She felt dizzy by all those sudden thoughts; a hand came to rub her right temple.

"What was that?..." she asked herself as the feeling vanished once more.

"What was what?"

The gentle voice of the atlantean reached her ears waking her from her musings. Blinking, she noticed for the first time that Kaldur was already standing by her side. Looking at his worried expression, Megan smiled sheepishly.

"Oh… nothing," she answered. "Just… well, Conner seemed a little upset about something, I was just wondering…"

Kaldur sighed. He knew Megan was trying to avoid answering his question. He had seen the slightly upset frown on her face as she rubbed her temple, and doubted the obvious headache was because of Conner, but he decided to let her be for the time being. Besides, she did seem worried for her boyfriend, so he should make it a priority to share his knowledge with her.

"It's because of what was inside that truck…" he began, and on the way back to the mount, Megan listened carefully to all her leader had to say.

* * *

Conner looked at the silent figure of the unconscious teen.

Freedom seemed so close and yet so far from this boy's hands… he knew that feeling… knew it too well. How many times had he watched the doctors outside, walking around, making tests… all the while whishing he could get out as well… only to notice that outside was not necessarily better than being inside. Regardeless of where, he was meant to be just a puppet, nothing more, nothing less.

He let out a deep sigh that made a small cloud of smoke form from the cold around the place. The soft groan that followed it conveyed his inner frustration to the other two teens.

"Dude… think he's alright?" whispered the speedster to his friend.

"Super or 'Project-DP-guy'?"

"Well… Super?"

The boy wonder took a thinking pose as he watched the young clone's slouched posture.

"Mn… he's just remembering bad stuff, probably."

"Should we say something?"

"You're asking me? I don't really know… maybe we should just let him be…?" he offered rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"Seriously? Just, let him be? That's the best you've got?" asked KF crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, what can I say? Sometimes, when you have bad memories, you just need time to sort through them… right?"

The speedster gave a considering sound.

Unfortunately, the two friend's forgot that their comrade could hear them perfectly regardless of how soft they tried to whisper, and so, they were clueless to the fact that they were making Super's already bad temper, worse. The clone's hands clenched in anger as his brow formed a scowl. Why couldn't those two just shut up?! Deciding to tell them himself, the kryptonian turned to face them, making the two jump from his irate expression. As the three teens began to discuss between each other, they ignored the slight frown on the prisoner's face or the frost that began forming around the container's walls.

* * *

By the time Mount Justice came into view, Megan felt a new oppressing feeling in her chest. Kaldur had allowed her to see the figure of the bounded teen through their mind link and it was disturbing. She could feel that awful sensation tightening her throat, making swallowing difficult. She didn't know this kid, didn't know what had been done to him, but the image of a person bounded up like that… as if he was a monster or a dangerous beast… it was too much for her. The figure of Conner tied to that metal slab back in Bialya being tortured flashed through her mind, making a tear fall down her cheek. Nobody deserved to be treated like a monster.

"Megan? Are you alright?" If he could have, Kaldur wouldn't have let her see the boy's condition, but since they were going to transfer him into the Mount, it was better she knew what to expect and what exactly made Superboy so upset. If she reacted badly in front of Conner —considering how important she was for the kryptonian's mental stability— it would make things worse. At least now she had a heads up.

Megan was by far the most sensible member of the team, as it was to be expected, after all, her condition as a telepath made her feel closer to other's than sometimes it may seem necessary or healthy. But she was also a strong willed person, strength that she demonstrated as she cleaned her eyes and turned to look at him with determination shining through those glassy eyes.

"No, but I'll be once we free that boy." And he couldn't help but feel proud of her. She had grown so much since he had first met her. He gave her a smile and nodded once in agreement.

"Yes, I think we all will."

* * *

In a darkened room…

"This was all I could do…" a sorrowful voice resounded through the place, the old creature it belonged to sighed, the sound laden with regret. "Sometimes… I really hate my job…"

His gloved hand touched the shiny mirror like surface that produced the only light in the whole room. Inside of it, the picture of the young captive being surrounded by team was, and then many pictures flew by, as a video placed in fast forward. The creature frowned, an expression that had been present on his face for quite a while now.

"Forgive me… for being such a terrible guardian…" he whispered closing his tired and old red eyes.

* * *

oo

That was it for now. Till next week!

R&R


	4. Arrival

Thanks for the reviews, and yes, that was clockwork at the end.

Again for anyone that didn't read this in the other comments, this story, **Danny's family was not killed by Dan Phantom**, so they should be ok… I guess… (But that's for me to know and you to find out xD)

Again, I don't own Danny Phantom or Young Justice, I just had fun writing this!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Three

Arrival

* * *

The moment the hatch was opened for the bioship to land, the girls of the team run to the front to receive their friends, and compelled by their presences, Red Tornado also came to receive the cargo. From inside the ship Aqualad couldn't help but sigh at the picture, now they not only had to explain things to their comrades, but also to their den mother… just great.

Megan took upon herself to explain to the girls about what had happened, while Kaldur gave an overall report to the leaguer, who seemed quite interested in the mysterious contraption that was the white cargo box. The two heroes advised their friends to be as tactful as they could possibly be; not only was the prisoner potentially fragile —or dangerous depending on what you preferred to believe—, Conner was also under high levels of stress brought by the memories that were haunting him since their discovery, and no one wanted to annoy the young clone more than necessary.

While Megan tried to convey all she could through the link she shared with her teammates, it was soon clear that Artemis and Rocket weren't feeling so keen about the situation. The two girls soon expressed their doubts about this new comer's presence. What if he was a spy for the Light? They could have planted him in the accident scene just to infiltrate them more easily; it was the classic victim/spy situation. Zatanna added her own piece by mentioning that the circumstances they had described in which this 'boy' was found were, at least, dubious. The leader sighed once again, aware that he may do that a lot more before the day was over. Moving to stand by Megan he reassured them that he had taken that scenario into consideration but that he could not allow it to rule out the possibility of this kid being in actual need of their help. His physical condition was not truly a favorable one, so if he was indeed a spy for the Light, then they may be able to do something before he caused too much trouble. He assured them that they will all act with extreme caution, but ask them to give the teen a chance.

The girls didn't appear to have been completely convinced, so Aqualad suggested they saw the boy for themselves, that way they would understand what he meant. Calling to Robin through their communicator, he asked to open the cargo's door for them to see inside. The only answer they received was the clear sound of a lock being opened.

As they approached the door, Zatanna keenly searched for Robin's figure in the strangely green shadowy environment, but when she finally saw him walking to the entrance she frowned a little. The boy wonder's body language seemed strangely 'distracted', shoulders lose, weight leaning casually against a wall; his covered eyes didn't even search for the others' faces, they just looked to the floor as if he was inside a state of deep thought. His expression was completely blank, which send a few alarms; this was too weird for mischievous old Robin. The boy slowly raised his gaze to his friends and turned around to head back inside without uttering a single word.

Confused, the team and Red tornado got inside the compartment. The three girls noticed their three other teammates, all looking calmly at the floor, but soon their focus went to the bounded teenager at the back, it was then that all their doubts seemed to be forgotten. It was a really tearing picture, to see a boy about their age trapped like that; they didn't even pay any mind to the cold that surrounded them, or how their breath formed soft puffs of mist as they breathed. But Megan did. And she felt so much more, too.

Now that she could finally see this boy with her own eyes she could feel it. That cold sensation, that sorrowful and comforting feeling that had veiled her mind, it came from him, from this boy, she was sure. Those feelings seemed to linger softly in the coldness of the environment that appeared to hang around his damaged form as some kind of protective quilt. But something was off. She kind of thought that once she were in the presence of the one that had intrude her mind, she would be overcome by that terrifying feeling, maybe overwhelmed by the closeness of its center… but now that she was, it was awfully subdued, worse than before. She could barely perceive it, and she wouldn't have if she hadn't been looking for it. For some reason it was not reaching for her anymore, it just floated around, keeping its owner inside its hold but not trying to grasp onto others' minds.

"H-how are we going to get him out?"Asked Artemis to a distracted Wally, who just noticed she was there. Was Kid Flash spacing out? That wasn't really weird coming from him, but… perhaps… Artemis poked the boy's shoulder only receiving a blank look as answer. Looking around, she also noticed that Conner hadn't even moved since they entered and Robin just leaned against a wall, doing nothing. "What is wrong with these three?" she asked to the other girls.

It was then that Megan noticed the melting frost around the prisoner's binds, it was a really thin layer, and barely perceptible, but it was there. Connecting the dots in her mind, she arrived to the conclusion that the boys that traveled inside the box had somehow been influenced by the long exposure to the cold —despite the apparent reluctance it seemed to have about touching anyone else. Conner, Kid Flash and Robin were too quiet for comfort. She mentally messaged to Aqualad, a slight worried tone on her mental voice betraying her body's calm demeanor.

"_Kaldur… I think the cold aura of this place is affecting the boys… they need to get out, now." _

Looking at his friend's blank expression, the atlantean agreed with her. Those three were too distracted.

"Ok, let's get out and think of how to do this," he said as he slowly herded the confused teens out of there, noting —with some concern— how none of them seemed to offer resistance, not even Conner. He really hoped they weren't hurt.

"Mmm… interesting," commented Red Tornado from one side. Kaldur turned to look at him as the leaguer inspected the walls of the container. "This box was coated with a material of high resistance and impermeability, but my systems seem to fail to match it with anything I may already have knowledge of; this will require further investigation." Turning to see the concerned expression of the Atlantean as he tried to push everyone out he added. "Worry not, young leader. I can't be damaged by this cold temperature. I'll work on detaching the containment unit from its base in order to transport this young one inside without damaging the device. In a better illuminated environment, it'll be safer to study the situation."

Kaldur noticed the slight inflection in Tornado's speech. It seemed their guardian had seen the strange effect the cold appeared to have over their friends and had offered himself to do the hard work. Kaldur offered a nod, grateful for Tornado's caring gesture.

* * *

It was surprising how fast their friends recovered their usual awareness once they were inside. Only two minutes inside the warmer ambient of the cave, and the three snapped out of their weird trance. Once the light returned completely to their eyes, they were assaulted by the concerned questions of their comrades, but they seemed confused as to what their friends were so frantic about, since they were completely sure they were fine, or 'whelmed' in Robin's case.

Kaldur wouldn't let them escape giving an explanation, and soon —and a little reluctant about it— Conner began to explain. The young clone told them that he had been thinking about some stuff and confessed to have revived old wounds that apparently weren't as closed as they should have been. Megan laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder, to which he answer with a grateful smile. He, then, proceeded to tell them that he had been too deep in those dark parts of his mind when Robin and Kid Flash began whispering behind his back, an accusation that the two best friends did not deny but that they also explained. The two had just been wondering how they should act to help Conner feel better and were clueless that their little discussion was actually making him upset, they were simply sharing thoughts in a low voice and admitted they forgot that the kryptonian could easily hear them talking. Turning to their leader Conner said that when he heard their whispers he was consumed by rage and angrily he turned to demand them to keep quiet, but… and he seemed to take a few seconds here to think how to explain it… everything went suddenly cold. Trying to help explaining, Robin said it was as if something, like a bucket of water on the head, had made them run out of steam and then they were just there. The best way he could describe it was that their minds went blank, clear… like in meditation or something like that.

Conner blushed a little out of shame for his actions, he had been really close to actually getting physical, and could have hurt his friends out of his spite for his past experiences that they had nothing to do with. He apologized once more; he really didn't mean anything he did. The other two simply smiled and told him to forget about it, it was all right, everyone makes mistakes.

Artemis looked at the sudden amiable attitude those three seemed to have and couldn't help but think something out loud.

"So… basically, you were in 'time-out'?" the commentary was received with confused stares, which made the girl a little red on the face. "I mean like… when your parents see you fighting with your sibling and give you a 'time-out' pulling each other to a corner to think about what you have done till you apologize?" when the weird expressions didn't disappear, the young archer sighed in defeat. "You know what? Forget it…"

After a few dismissing shrugs, Conner finally ventured to ask the whereabouts of the mysterious teen. Aqualad explained that Red Tornado had offered himself to safely detach the unit from the box in order to move him inside. This seemed to make Conner very glad.

It wasn't till twenty minutes later that Red Tornado's voice came through the speakers of the cave, informing them that he had finished and required somebody's assistance, particularly Megan's in order to levitated the unit and the boy inside without shaking it too much.

Megan and Zatanna decided to go help, leaving the others behind to wait for them.

* * *

To say the team was consternated by the situation was saying little. It seemed that once the transfer was done, silence had taken a strong hold of everyone.

Now, exposed to all the light from inside the cave, the team could finally see the teen's features clearly. They were surprised by the fact that the boy's hair was stark white, or at least would have been if not for the green stains that covered it. At first, they had thought it was blood, but it was green… so… either it was another substance, or this kid's blood was green… but who had green blood? Leaving the weird thought aside, they also came to see the magnitude of the scars that covered his body, it was almost as if the teen's skin was made up more of scar tissue than actual skin —maybe they exaggerated a little, but the fact was that looking closely it did seemed like that. Those ragged, difficult breaths and the ominous looking tubes, made them flinch internally. What could that poor creature have done to deserve such treatment?

"What's this?" said a confused Black Canary as she entered the room. Her eyes widened at the sight of the boy's limp form. She had been preparing things for the next training session, and hadn't been there for explanations.

A little tired of telling this story so much, Aqualad sighed before walking to her and explained the situation once more. Her expressions changed as the leader told her about the mission till it settled on a thoughtful one. She remained quiet for a few seconds before turning to look at the teen.

"So, have you informed Batman yet?"

A soft hiss of nervousness escaped Robin as he was reminded that they were supposed to inform his mentor about the outcome of their mission. Hopefully, it wasn't so late…

"I-I guess we should do that now…" he said rubbing his cheek in a sheepish way.

"We need to free him," everyone turned to look at Superboy. The clone's eyes hadn't left the kid's damaged body since he was brought into the room. Megan wrapped her hand into his. The weird feeling was not coming back, even as she searched for it… why didn't she felt anything now that she was only a few steps from him?

"We understand the need to do so… but first, we must understand his condition better," said Wally. "I mean… I don't even get how he can be alive without a beating heart…"

Silence.

No one knew the answer to that either.

Then a soft whimper called Superboy's attention.

"Wolf?" he turned looking for his friend, only to see a pair of shiny eyes looking at him from a darkened crevice up on one of the cave's natural perches. The wolf whimpered out to his companion in clear fear. "Wolf? Is something wrong, buddy?" the other teens saw with surprise the scared and shivering form of the huge white wolf, hiding from them. A few warning growls escaped its snout.

"What's got him so nervous?" wondered Wally.

"Mmm… perhaps, the new stranger in our home?" offered Rocket, looking at the 'sleeping' teen.

The wolf seemed to be confused about how to react, going from hiding in utter fear to showing outright aggression towards the intruder in its territory. That attitude worried the senior leaguers.

"Superboy," said Canary. "Maybe you should take Wolf somewhere else, perhaps one of the training rooms. If he stays he might attack this boy out of his territorial instincts." Conner had to admit that wolf did seemed to be preparing to attack, which made the clone wonder why was the damaged boy viewed as such a threat… shaking his head, the kryptonian went to his friend's hiding spot and took the wolf by its scruff, heaving him up in his arms before taking it out of the room. All the way, he couldn't help but notice how his companion's body shook and shivered against his chest.

Wolf had fought big monsters and terrible villains…

How could 'Project DP' scare him so much?

* * *

"Understood. Have you found anything else about his condition?" Batman asked through the screen to the teens looking at him.

"Not much really," admitted the leader. "Robin took a sample from one of the tubes in order to analyze the contents and determine how vital they could be for the boy, but we can't seem to recognize any of the substances it's made of aside from water and a few minerals."

A frown appeared on the vigilante's face.

"Unidentifiable? You've run the match thoroughly?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Robin to his mentor. "I even run it three times through the cave's data base, but we have no idea what this is made of," he said showing a small green glowing vial.

Nodding, Batman turned back to Kaldur.

"Once the current mission the league is tending to is over, I'll go there myself and look at the sample, perhaps if we run it through the watchtower's data base we can find a match. For now, you must observe any possible changes on 'DP's' body, inform if something happens." Kaldur nodded to the dark knight showing he understood.

Once the transmission was over, the teens sighed in relief. At least they didn't get scolded for the delay to report.

"Now what?" asked Zatanna from behind the two boys.

"Now, we wait," answered the atlantean.

* * *

Megan hadn't been able to move from the teen's side at all since Conner had first left the room. Her boyfriend had come and gone a few times since then, trying to divide his time into being by Dp's side and comforting a scared Wolf, who didn't seem at ease even being so far from their guest's location. She had seen Robin take a small sample from one of the tubes connected to the boy's body and leave while commenting how awesome it was for the substance to have its own real luminescence. She had also seen Wally helping tornado move a piece of the box's wall to analyze its mysterious components.

At the present moment, only Zatanna, Artemis and Wally were with her on the room. They were having a small conversation on the back, while she stood a few feet away from boy's limp form. That was ok, she was slightly ignoring them after all … her gaze glued to the boy's seemingly at ease expression, but doubted that that was how his mind was.

The cold had diminished considerably since they brought him in, passing now as a soft cool sensation that was only noticeable if you looked for it. But she wanted to find something more than just the cold. She wanted to find that confusing sensation of sadness and comfort, she yearned for it once more, because she believed that if only she could prod it with her mind, perhaps she could communicate with this creature, establish a link and learn if he was aware of how they could help him without placing his health at risk.

Glancing quickly behind her to see if someone was looking at her actions, she smiled when she saw the others concentrated in their conversation. Knowing she wouldn't be discovered, she brought one hand to her right temple to try and focus as much as she could. She needed to have things clear. She wanted in. Into this being's mind. Slowly, her conscious reached closer and closer to where she believed his mind was, but —to her surprise— just when she was going to grasp for it, she hit a frozen wall, a mental barrier like she hadn't seen before. At the collision, her real eyes snapped open and what she saw made her gasp.

"Hey, look at that!" said Zatanna's voice from the other side of the room, but to Megan, her voice seemed suddenly so far away, like a soft whisper in a silent room.

Megan was mesmerized by the one glowing orb that was looking at her from under heavy eyelids that threatened to close again at any second. She felt trapped in the depth of that one barely opened green eye. Shivering hands moved on their own to rest on the white haired boy's temples, as she unconsciously reached for his mind once more. When she felt the frozen wall, the green eye widened in confusion. Megan simply frowned as her mental fingers nudged the cold surface and she mouthed 'please, let me in', before her whole sight turned white.

As she was finally able to open her eyes, she looked around herself, only to notice she was in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Nothing but ice and snow covered soil for miles and miles on sight. That feeling began to crawl under her skin again. She was scared but safe. She silently wondered if this was how his mind looked like, and if it was… then, where was he?

The young martian tried to call out for him, but no voice came from her mouth. Out of nowhere, a green orb of light appeared, spinning softly around her, as if watching her with curiosity. She wondered what it was, and tried to touch it once, but when she did, it vanished completely, leaving her back in the middle of the lonely landscape. She decided to move, but when she placed a foot forward a strange gust of wind ruffled against her body.

Then she felt it.

Pain.

Pain like she had never felt before.

Her body began filling with many unwanted sensations, things prodding at her skin, pushing and pulling. Her chest exploded in agony, points around her arms, neck and face began to burn as if melted fire were to be filling her insides, making her painfully aware of each and every vein and artery around her body that connected to her center where everything began going numb. She wanted to scream, she wanted it so badly, but found that she couldn't for she had no voice to do so. She wanted to claw at her chest, but could not move her arms at will. She was desperate; she wanted to cry for help. "Stop!" she thought. "Please!" she fell to the ground curling into a tight ball as her form shivered. "PLEASE STOP!"

And her voice suddenly came back and with that one desperate cry all the pain disappeared, as if it had never been there at all. The gentle cold comforted her tortured form and carried her back to her feet. She was suddenly aware of the strong wall of ice that now surrounded her in a protective embrace. She was safe… no matter what she had though she had felt… she was safe. And that beautiful realization brought her to tears.

_STOP__**…**_**s-stop…**_please…don…le..op_

She suddenly turned to the darkened sky. A voice?... no… it wasn't a voice. It was a thought. Pure, as a baby's, no great description, no voice to back it up, just a thought. It was send directly to her, placed for her mind so carefully that it was almost like a caress from the wind. But it held so much inside it. It was hard to understand it, but she tried hard, and slowly the thoughts became clearer.

**Please… off… take 'em off...**

The thought begged her, pleaded her the same way she had before, when in pain. A white light surrounded her once more, and before she knew it she was back at the cave's room, her hands still on the boy's face, tears running down her face and the frantic voices of her friends behind her. The green eye that looked at her reluctantly closed, going back to the way it was.

**H-hurts… hurts so bad….**

The memory of the terrible pain she had felt for just one moment inside his mind came back to her and made her flinch backwards, letting go of the teen's face. She felt someone take her in a tight embrace and pull her away from the trapped boy. Strong arms held her tight in obvious fear, but she could not take her eyes from the broken body of the prisoner.

**No… Don't le-leave… please…**

She closed her eyes in desperation and tried to push against the person taking her away.

"Megan?" asked her beloved Conner's voice, and she finally became aware of her surroundings, noting that her whole team was looking at her with concerned expressions on their faces. Looking once more at the teen's bindings, everything fell in place.

"Take them off," the vehement tone she used took them by surprise. "Please, take those things off!"

Aqualad moved closer to her and tried to calm her down.

"Megan, please, what happened?"

She shook her head and said in a demanding voice: "We need to take those tubes off of him, now!"

Robin came closer to explain to her.

"Megan, as I've said before, it could be very dangerous for him if we simply take them off… how do we know it's not-"

"No, no it's not!" she said freeing herself from Conner's arms."That thing is not medicine, its poison!"

"What?!" they exclaimed.

"Megan? How do you know this?" asked a worried Superboy. She looked at them and lowered her head, knowing she had done something reckless but refusing to regret doing it.

"I know I shouldn't have but… I-I tried to link with his mind," noticing that Kaldur was going to say something she beat him to it. "And by doing so, I was able to feel part of his thoughts. He's in pain, terrible pain. Those things are injecting something that is burning him from inside out. And he's begging, in his weakened state, to please take them off…"

**P-plea…se..**

"It hurts…" a tear fell down her cheek.

Once again, silence reined the place. By then, Black Canary had also joined the group and watched as the saddened martian girl tried to control herself. The noise of cracking knuckles cut them from their silent reverie, making them turn to the source, Superboy.

"Well, that's enough for me," he said as he advanced to the trapped teen.

"Supey, wait!" exclaimed Robin, standing in the way. "Megan… you sure?" he asked her, looking for any sign of doubt in her eyes. He found none as she firmly nodded.

Sighing in defeat, the boy wonder allowed a cheeky grin to spread on his face. "Man… are we going to get in trouble later when Batman hears about this, but…" pulling a set of tools from his belt he added. "We'll deal with that when it happens. Let's do this!"

Superboy gave a smile as the team began closing in, eager to help in any way possible. Kaldur sighed once more before joining mumbling to himself: "well, there goes being cautious".

Black Canary wanted to stop them, she wasn't sure if they should take such a risk, but looking at Megan's upset demeanor and the child's condition, she couldn't find it in herself to make either go through this for longer.

Robin and Kid Flash began tampering with the machine that pumped the green substance. It only took them a few minutes till they had managed to turn it off; it wasn't really a complex system after all. The team was surprised to see that the effect was almost immediate. Once the flux of substance was stopped it took only a few seconds before the trapped boy began moving. Small twitches from his shoulders, his tired muscles clenching and unclenching constantly, and his head lulled from side to side. It was now pretty obvious that his 'sleep-like-state' was being forced by that strange substance.

While the girls and the two boys helped detach the tubes from the slightly shivering form, Aqualad and Superboy broke the heavy bindings apart. In only a matter of minutes, they were able to lower the teen's body down over a blanket that Black canary had brought while they worked.

Now free, the reddened limbs moved experimentally, fingers and toes curled for the first time in who knows how long. The oxygen mask was still tied to the boy's face and a trembling hand tried to reach for it, but seemed to lack the coordination needed to complete the task.

One shiny green eye opened with difficulty and searched with unfocused sight looked around the faces of the other teens, till it fell on Megan's green one.

**Off… please…**

She nodded, unsure if he was able to see her or not. But she still took the mask and asked Robin to help her detach it. With a few twitches, they were able to open the lock and slowly take it off. The dried mouth of the teen opened as he inhaled harshly, greedily taking air in, the sound of his hacking coughs filled the place as a darker shade of glowing green stuff fell from his mouth. Some of them recoiled at the painful display.

A few gasps later, the boy curled up on the floor, his hands grasping desperately at his chest, fingernails scrapping at the now green covered bandages. His teeth were clenched in obvious pain, but no moan or whimper came from him…

**Please… it hurts so much…**

A few tears fell down his clenched eyes.

"There's something hurting his chest," she said making Superboy nod as he tried to help the boy into a sitting position.

"Stop," Black Canary had remained on the side till now, but it was obvious that this needed a much more experienced approach. "Superboy, bring the stretcher from the infirmary. Aqualad, bring Red Tornado. The rest of you, don't move him so much, you're just making things worse." They noticed she was right, in their haste to take him out of there they forgot that they didn't really know how bad things were, and moving the boy seemed to be making him squirm harder. "We'll take him to the infirmary and there Tornado and I will look at his chest." The team nodded, glad that the leaguer was actively helping them now.

**h-hurts…**

Megan moved her hand, caressing the teen's dirty locks, trying to let him know they hadn't left him. "Don't worry; we'll make the pain stop." She frowned sadly for she doubted that in his delusional state he may have even heard her.

* * *

Ooo

Hope you like this chapter, and...

**From this humble writer to all the readers that take time to look at this: have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

**See you next week!**

**R&R**


	5. Phantom

Sorry for taking a little more than normal, had a few things to tend to.

And this has yet to revised by my friend, so there might be more mistakes than normal. Hope they don't bother you much!

Well, let's start.

Oo

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Five

Phantom

* * *

For the first time in a long while, Robin was officially disgusted. He had seen corpses, had dealt with wounds and witnessed atrocities against innocent since he was nine, but this? Oh, man! This was just too much. Looking at the senior heroine's reaction he knew she agreed with him, she had never seen something like this before either. And what a grim secret those bandages hid.

The shape of the cleanly cut wound was clear indication as to what exactly had happened to that kid, and that concept—by itself— would have been enough to disturb them but it was only the beginning. Whoever the mad scientists that had done this freakish incision were, they weren't happy with simply having carved a gaping hole into a child's chest to look at his insides, NO! they had also deemed it necessary to place thin razor like metal plates into the open cuts and bandage them tightly in place, ensuring not only that the wound wouldn't be able to cure itself, but that every time this kid breathed he would be in a hell lot more of unnecessary pain. And by the slightly discoloration of the tissue around the cuts' edges, it seemed that this was done a while ago and the skin was beginning to rot.

If you combined that with the teen's pain filled expression —clenched eyes and teeth, shivering body and sweat covered skin— then you'll understand part of why Robin felt so grossed-out.

But leaving his more sentimental part aside, he will have to confess that his natural curiosity had been spiked (and he would never admit this to anyone, but that might have been what really disgusted him the most: that a person was suffering and he was curious, regardless of that kid's pain he was freaking curious! Made him wonder… what kind of person was he?). His analytical eyes were eagerly drinking on a scene that had made his other comrades recoil and stay behind Black Canary and Red Tornado as the two worked on the teen. It was a surprise to learn that inside that boy's body there was no blood but a weird green fluorescent liquid, quite similar to the unidentified substance they had found in the tubes, except this was a darker shade of green. So… this was, supposedly, this person's blood? What kind of being bleeds green fluorescent blood?

"Robin, Aqualad," said Black Canary calling their attention. "Make sure the straps are firmly tied."

The two teammates looked at each one of the straps holding the boy's arms, legs and waist down to the table. In the back, they could hear Megan telling them to not tie them too hard, because they were scaring him, their actions were being misunderstood inside the teen's confused mind and they probably were now being viewed as the same people that had hurt him in the first place. But this was needed. If they didn't tie him tight enough he would keep struggling and the older heroes wouldn't be able to extract the metal pieces. There weren't many options available.

Once the security of each strap was confirmed, the two teens backed away, deciding to give their seniors some space to work.

It was a horrible thing to watch. The teen's body writhed in pain as Tornado pulled each piece agonizingly slowly, trying to avoid causing any internal damage to his organs. Black Canary had given the kid a shot of morphine, but knowing almost nothing about his physiology she had limited the doze to a human one, and by the reaction the boy was having to the procedure, it was clear it wasn't really that effective at all. But, regardless of how much pain his body language may say he was in, the teen did not make a single sound. He gasped, sighed and even coughed, but they heard no whimper, cry or groan come from his mouth. And perhaps, that made it even worse, because it made them feel something was terribly wrong. Something that was stopping the kid from voicing his pain.

Superboy's eyes were as wide as they could get as he numbly held Megan in his arms. At first, Canary didn't want to allow the team —aside from Aqualad and Robin—to be present during such a delicate procedure, especially after having removed the bandages and seeing the real extent of the kid's wounds. But Megan put up a good fight. Apparently, the boy kept communicating with her, and his cries constantly begged her not to leave him alone. And she even added that she was constantly trying to help him calm down so that she and Tornado could help him better. With such a statement on her side, Canary couldn't keep her away from the kid, and as it was expected, Conner wouldn't leave her side either, regardless of how this situation made him sick beyond belief.

The young Kryptonian felt Megan wince as one of the pieces of metal came out from the wound. He thought that since she could somehow 'hear' the teen, then it wasn't too farfetched to think that within her mind she was able to hear all the cries that they could not. He felt angry… so terribly angry. And every time a piece of metal came out —each time covered in greenish blood and broken tissue—, Conner felt rage bubbling underneath his skin. They would pay. Whoever dared to do such a monstrous thing would pay! Nobody deserved something like this, nobody!

His hands gripped Megan's shoulders, careful not to hurt her, but looking at her he knew she probably wouldn't even notice if he pressed too hard. Her eyes were filled with tears and had this lost expression in them as they watched over the trembling figure of the damaged teen on the gurney. They really shouldn't be there… but they couldn't afford to leave, and they wouldn't. Unlike his other friends.

Wally, Zatanna, Artemis and Rocket had left the room when Canary made it clear that she would not make any more exceptions and remained firm on her believe that they shouldn't stay. They had looked crestfallen at first but later on, listening to the others' story of what they had witnessed they would be glad for not having been inside.

Finally, as the last of the pieces left his torn body, the teen slumped against the table. The young Martian said between sobs as she covered her ears: "Thank you." And it was clear to everyone present that that was probably not Megan's words but the kid's, for his expression relaxed exponentially as he slowly seemed to drift off into unconsciousness. Everyone, at least the organic ones, let out a sigh of relief. The worst was over, or at least they hoped so. Black Canary prepared a few machines to begin cauterizing the wound and avoid possible infection and hemorrhage, only to be stopped by the metallic hand of her fellow Leaguer.

"Mmm… interesting," commented Red Tornado. Everyone looked at him, confused by his statement. "It seems our young guest is more peculiar than we may have thought." His red hand pointed to the wound making her look closer. Canary gasped at what she saw.

"Impossible," she mumbled. Tendrils of greenish substance were slowly pulling at each other, new pieces closing gaping holes. In about 30 seconds, all 'bleeding' was stopped. In front of their eyes, in a matter of a few minutes, what should have been a mortal wound if not treated and cauterized quickly, had been reduced to just a really nasty gash. The rotting skin had been dissolved and new healthy one was forming. The wound would surely leave a bad scar, but it now looked almost a week old, making the risk of infection to be less probable. In a bout of curiosity, Robin looked at the previously swollen limbs and the small puncture wounds were the tubes had been attached to his skin. His eyes widened in surprise. The reddened extremities' inflammation had gone down a lot and the other wounds were gone, only little red spots left behind.

"He's got super healing," said the boy wonder, impressed at the speed in which the wounds regenerated themselves. "His heart does not beat, yet his metabolism works at high speed?"

Black Canary sighed in resignation.

"I belief this is a mystery that'll have to wait till we get a second opinion. I've already let Batman know the situation and he's going to bring John to help with the medical check." Turning to the obviously distraught younger heroes she offered a small smile. "Whatever the case, he seems better already, even at ease at the moment." And it was truth. The white haired teen had a relaxed expression as he appeared to be in deep sleep. All signs of pain were gone, except for the occasional twitch on his eyebrow, but then again, breathing —regardless of how none lethal the wound had become— must have been really uncomfortable. "I think you all deserve some rest, why don't you guys join the others and take the rest of the evening? Let's leave the training session for tomorrow."

She saw the reluctance in the teens' faces at the concept of leaving, but —with the boy now sleeping as peaceful as a tortured person can hope to be— there was little they could do to help by being present, so she made sure they understood it. It saddened her to see the slight lost look on Megan and Conner's faces as they retired from the room; they were the most affected of the whole group. She always hated when the younger ones were hurt like this.

"Black Canary, may I suggest moving the child to a more comfortable bed, and perhaps hook him up to a breathing mask? Regardless of his lack of a beating heart, it does seem he needs air to survive and I believe it might alleviate his stress exponentially."

Nodding at her comrade's wise suggestion, she allowed her young charges' situation to slip from her mind as she concentrated on the mysterious patient they had at hand.

* * *

It wasn't hard for the five teenagers to find the hiding place of their missing companions. They just had to follow Wally's obnoxiously loud voice all the way to the living room, to find the teens in a light conversation. It would have seemed an easy one, but the exaggerated movements of Kid Flash, the frown in Zatanna's and Rocket's face and the quirk in Artemis' made it obvious that they were trying hard to keep the images of what they had seen before leaving out of their heads. Once the leader of the team cleared his throat to make their presence known, they were assaulted by their questions.

Was 'DP' ok?

Were they able to patch him up?

Will 'DP' make it?

It almost made them all cringe when, in their desperation for answers, they had accidentally called the boy 'DP' out loud. Although that was the closest to a nickname they had for their 'guest' —and admittedly they had been referring to him that way inside their heads and in whispered conversations— it still felt wrong. It was like calling Conner 'Kr', it was demeaning, it made the boy seem nothing more than a test subject, not a person. After the horrible display of pain the boy had done in front of them, they refused to think of him as anything less than a sentient being. He could have been fabricated in a lab for all they knew, but no mindless drone could ever feel that much agony in such a sincere way. It seemed a silent consensus that no one would call him that way again. They just hoped the boy would wake up soon and offer them a proper way to call him, a name perhaps.

Finally, allowing himself to relax, Kaldur took a seat in the living's couch and turned to the young Martian girl, who was cleaning her face with a handkerchief Zatanna had gladly offered her. Megan had been the closest to this creature's pain; she had linked with him and been able to hear that which they had not. He had been curious for a while and thought this was the right time to ask.

"Megan, what did you hear from the boy?"

The martian girl noticed how she suddenly became the center of everyone's attention. She knew she had to share her knowledge with them, but she wasn't sure how to explain things properly… she had never had a communication like that one… such a silent one…

"I… really didn't hear anything." As soon as her words left her mouth she could perceive the confusion in her friend's faces, so she tried explaining it better. "I mean, I understood things, but didn't hear them… it's weird really. Normally by linking with someone I get to hear their thoughts and they hear mine, but in this case… this person didn't talk in his mind, so I didn't have anything to listen to. The thoughts just were there, raw, pure, a little confusing… they were almost visible, readable, I can't really explain it well…" she felt ashamed that she could not share this properly, but Conner's hand squeezing softly at her shoulder comforted her a lot.

"Mmm… what could that mean?" wondered Rocket taking a sit by Kaldur's side.

"Maybe… he was so confused that he couldn't communicate properly?" offered Artemis.

"Perhaps…" mumbled Robin. "But there were really a lot of things that were quite different in that guy… "

He proceeded to share the things that had caught his attention the most. How the boy made no sound, how those things were inserted in his chest, and how fast he was healing. "I think the purpose of those metal things was to stop the wound from closing so that they didn't have to open it once more…"

"Why would anyone be that cruel?" mumbled a startled Kid Flash.

"I… I don't really know…" Robin answered, his voice dying in his throat by the end of his sentence, he wasn't really sure why… but he kind of felt a little empty now that they were away from that kid… he took a sit and tried to relax.

Kaldur noticed that everyone seemed a little too sad and soon began encouraging them to distract themselves with some of their common activities, even though he was well aware that that would be a very difficult task.

* * *

For three hours the teens tried their best to act normal distracting themselves with video games and petty activities, at least till Batman and John arrived.

Both senior heroes barely paid them any attention, only stopping to give the common greetings before following Red Tornado and Black Canary's lead to the infirmary to look at their recovering patient.

The team's hard earned masks of normalcy had been broken. Their heads were back to the seriousness of the situation. Silence reined once more in the room as the teenagers awaited their elder's judgment of their guest's presence.

* * *

"I have never seen something like this," confessed the martian while looking once more at the sleeping boy's vitals and his blood sample's results. "This young one does not seem to have a working heart or any organ working as such, but somehow his body manages to keep going. He needs air, but his breathing rate is way slower than the average human being. And his temperature is beyond hypothermic," frowning he added: "There seems to be traces of human blood components in his 'blood' but aside from that his cells are mainly composed by a glowing green substance I'm not familiar with. I can't match it with any other substances I may know from any extraterrestrial blood's components I've ever come in contact with."

Batman's frown deepened, he had seen the unknown substance that Robin had taken a sample of and it was truly a mystery. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had the nagging sensation that he had seen something like that before, but where? He was not sure…

"Your opinion on his condition?" he asked deciding to leave the thought for when he got back to the bat cave.

"There is little to say that isn't clear to plain sight. He is obviously being experimented on, probably tortured for a long time, and the reddish swollen wound on his chest is clear proof of a dissecting procedure."

It was disgusting to think someone would do that to a kid. The Dark Knight looked at the teen's body once more, observing him in detail. The boy was thin, his muscles had suffered from the lack of use and some starvation but it wasn't that severe, and he would have looked in a relative good condition if it wasn't for all the scars and wounds littered all over the skin and the dark rings around his closed eyes. Batman closed his own and shoved his feelings aside for the moment, he required a clear mind for this situation, nothing was gained by feeling bad for the kid.

"Any markings or clues as to who did this?"

"Not tattoos or chips, nothing. Aside from the given designation of 'Project DP' on his containment unit, there was nothing else." Answered Black Canary from the other side of the room. "The containment unit was coated by a strange alloy of steel and an unknown element, Red Tornado is currently working to isolate the components."

Batman gave a frustrated grunt. There were too many 'unknowns' in this equation for his liking.

"Anything else?" he asked, thirsty for any detail that hadn't been mentioned before.

"Well…" John reached a hovering hand over the kid's face. "As a curious fact, the boy has mismatched eye color. One of his eyes is blue, while the other is an eerily fluorescent green… interesting color, and regardless of his state of unconsciousness it still generates a soft luminescence."His hand moved to the neck side as he continued. "Aside from the dissection wound, there is another one that called my attention. It's this scar, running from side to side over his neck. It seems strangely fresh but is surrounded by older tissue, this means the wound was done more than once, three times at least," the martian frowned in barely concealed sadness. "I'm afraid that a wound in such a place with this suggested deepness could very well have damaged the child's larynx to the point in which it could have jeopardized his communication skills. That might be the reason for the lack of vocal manifestations of pain that Canary and Tornado mentioned before."

"The kid might be mute?" asked Batman with a thoughtful expression.

"By force, yes." He closed his eyes as he continued. "I was told Megan was able to link with his mind. That might be a helpful resource once he gets better. His condition doesn't seem favorable to represent any kind of danger to anyone regardless of his healing abilities, so leaving him in the team's care for now might be the best option. But I guess there is only one thing I can say for certain," turning to look at his comrades with a grim expression he said: "whether he was or not artificially created, I can tell that this child is not human, not completely at least. And for some reason, Meta human doesn't seem to fit either."

Each Leaguer was left to their thoughts for a while, musing over the Martian's grim declaration. At least till a sudden movement called their attention. The boy's right hand began twitching and a frown pulled on his face. Batman nodded to the Manhunter who silently agreed before moving his hand to his right temple.

* * *

"_M'gann," _the girl stopped mixing her cookie dough at her uncle's voice calling in her mind.

"_Uncle John?"_

"_Tell the team that our guest is waking up. You may come see him now if you wish."_

Excited by the news, she called to her friends through their link. They had mostly being dozing off, each mentally and emotionally drained from all the theories and questions they had been discussing, but her voice was a nice wake up call, making them all jump into action almost as soon as they heard her. The teens run to the infirmary as if there was a fire somewhere, so Aqualad, being the voice of reason, had to remind them that they had to be quiet and patient so as to not disturb the recovering boy.

Slowly they entered the room, looking at John and Canary standing beside the teen's bed while Batman stood hidden in the shadows of one of the room's corners. Normally, it wouldn't be a good idea to have this many people in the same room as a recovering person, but the team felt strangely compelled to be present, all of them. They had been forced to divide before, but now they just didn't feel they could do it, something inside them was telling them it was important that they were all there.

In the bed, the young teen moved slowly, his face reflecting some anxiousness at the sudden strange place he had woken up to. The breathing mask on his face seemed to be the only thing preventing him from hyperventilating as his eyes widened showing the strange mismatched colors to the other teenagers. Slightly unfocused, those eyes searched the room for any hint of familiarity till they finally fell on the green faced girl. Suddenly, his stressed demeanor began to fade; he appeared to feel safer now that the red headed girl was there. Megan noticed this and offered a comforting smile. The boy's expression changed into one of childish curiosity as he inspected her through his now half lidded eyes. John noticed the exchange and decided to clear his throat to call his niece's attention.

"Megan, is it true that you linked with this boy's mind?" asked the uncle as the team spread around the room to occupy each a place from where to watch over the situation. Megan nodded to the adult martian. "Impressive. I've tried linking as well, but a strong barrier seems to keep me away."

She wasn't really surprised by this, after all, she had felt that frozen wall before too, and till now she wasn't really sure whether she had managed to gain access or if the boy had been the one to let her in.

Almost as if he could hear her, she felt a prodding sensation and soon the thoughts began to flow into her mind in that confusing way once more. With a frown she proceeded to place a hand on her right temple, action that made the other people present remain in silence for they knew she was trying to concentrate.

**Who… you?...**

Like a word written with the floating letters of a letter soup, it was difficult for her mind to order the thought and separate it from the 'noise' that other ideas made around it. She had to focus really hard to avoid altering the real meaning of those thoughts, and still, she found herself wondered if she had gotten them right at all.

Fortunately for her, this time, the whispers were 'quieter', and the thoughts seem to come more at ease, less desperate, allowing her mind to relax.

"You remember me?" she asked out loud, making the others look at her once more.

"Megan?" asked Conner.

The boy looked at her with the same intense curiosity, thought his eyes were half lidded in exhaustion, as she explained to her friends that the boy was 'asking' her who she was through his thoughts. The elder martian noticed how she was emphasizing the 'thought' part. Eyes narrowing a little in realization, he turned to ask gently at the boy…

"Young one, are you not able to speak?"he asked from the opposite side of the bed from where Megan was at.

They waited a few seconds, but there was no answer, and to Megan's surprise, the teen's eyes did not turn away from her as he asked once more.

**Who are… you?...**

There was no sign of him having heard her uncle.

The elder Martian looked at his niece asking if she had gotten an answer. She shook her head and tried asking the boy directly.

"_I'm Megan. I'm here to help you. Please, if you can, answer my uncle's question?" _she asked showing with her mind how her uncle looked like so the boy would know who she was talking about. The boy's left eyes shined slightly, maybe amused that she could actually 'hear' him, but then he frowned a little.

**Megan… Megan… who… who is uncle?**

She was taken by surprise as she turned to look at her uncle's face. She shared the little exchange with him and saw his eyes widen a little before getting closer to the kid's bed. Raising his hand a little, closer to the teen's right ear, the Manhunter snapped his fingers producing a small sound. Then he ordered Megan to ask the boy if he had heard that.

She nodded and did as he asked. The boy simply looked at her in confusion.

**Sound…? **

She gasped at the implications. Slowly, she shook he head to her uncle, confirming that the boy did not hear that.

The Martian walked all the way around the bed to stand by Megan's side.

**Uncle…**

Thought the boy as if he were seeing the elder hero for the first time. The thought held a little nervousness, perhaps at having an older person so close. The manhunter snapped his fingers once more and asked in a kind voice: "young one, did you hear that?"

The boy blinked a little.

**Snap…**

His head moved slowly, up and down, each movement taking a toll on his energy reserves.

**Megan?...**

Megan looked at him with a sad expression.

**Sorry… **

He said and the young martian girl felt something akin to understanding… as if the teen had understood what they had been trying to do and was now able to explain things to her better.

**Megan… I do…not saw uncle… eye does not…see**

She looked at the blue orb that was not actually looking at her. Now that she observed it closer it did seemed a little more unfocused and glazed over than the green one.

**Ear… does not hear...**

Megan nodded in understanding, hiding her gloom at the revelation that the boy seemed to be deaf and blind from the right side… what more could be wrong with his body… and why?

Turning to the others, she explained, asking them to please move to the side of the room that the teen could actually perceive them in cause it must be really scary to have seen so many people enter the room and knowing some of them were hiding in his blind spot. And it appeared she had been right, for the teen's tense muscles relaxed visibly once they did as she asked.

"Do you hear me well now?" asked the martian in a louder voice.

A curious green eye fixed on the adult's green face and he nodded even slower than before.

"If you can, could you answer this: are you able to speak?" the boy looked intently through his working left eye, the glow becoming stronger for a second before fading slightly again. He shook his head in negative.

**C-can't…**

Was the tired answer. Megan repeated his word to the others who seemed to deflate at the discovery.

"I feared so," mumbled the martian hero with a soft frown.

The teen ignored his comment and dedicated his energy to look at each of the others' faces, each one so peculiar to him, especially since they all had yet to change out from their hero disguises. Turning his curious glance at the martian girl he asked:

**Megan… they…who … are they?**

Megan smiled at this question, happy that the teen wasn't depressed by the things they had discovered about him.

"He wants to know who you are," she said turning to all her friends. Wally —being his enthusiastic self— smiled widely as he answered.

"I'm Kid Flash! And this is Artemis," he said pointing to the archer who 'gently' reminded him that she could talk for herself and that it was rude to point. "Ow…" he mumbled rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm… Superboy…" said Conner, a little shy of introducing himself to the exhausted boy.

"Robin."

"Rocket."

"My name is Zatanna."

"You may call me Aqualad."

The adult Martian introduced himself as John and Black Canary said to call her Canary if he wanted. The confused face of the youth told them that perhaps those were too many names for him right now. But Megan was taken by surprise by his sudden question.

**Who… over there?...**

She saw how his right hand moved a little and signed to the side of the room that should be invisible to him. She saw the narrowing eyes of Batman at the guest's actions. The kid knew he was there, even without seeing him or hearing him… and he hadn't even had a chance to see him enter the room… he shouldn't be aware of his presence.

"Well… he is…" she looked at the Dark Knight silently asking what she should say.

"He is Batman," said John, understanding what was happening and saving Megan from having to answer. Batman didn't seem to mind as he continued to watch the situation with critical eyes from within the shadows.

"So," said Wally with a kind smile, trying to ease the tension. "What should we call you?" He asked, eager for something to call him, his enthusiasm seemed to be infectious to the rest of the team, making some smile with him.

The boy frowned deeply as his mind became too blurred for Megan to understand properly; hundreds of words flew through their link, some were shoved almost hatefully to the side, others held tenderly as they were placed with utmost care somewhere else. Megan, as her mind tried to understand this, felt herself become mesmerized at his brightly shinning green eye, which suddenly became clear and focused.

**Phantom…**

She blinked confused. _"What?"_ she mentally asked. The light shined brightly as his working eye stared deeply into her own.

**Name… Phantom…**

* * *

Well dear reader:** Happy New Year!**

And see you in the next chapter, next week.

R&R


	6. Hello and Goodbye

So, chapter six.

For the people who asked: Yes, I do update once every week on Mondays… you know, trying to make Monday a better day for everyone one chapter at the time xD

And well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Five

Hello and Goodbye

* * *

She blinked a few more times till her mind was able to digest what he was trying to tell her.

A tender smile spread over her face, a sense of achievement growing within her mind.

"He says that his name is Phantom." She announced loudly for all her friends to hear, unable to stop the happy feeling spreading inside of her. She wanted to giggle, especially when she looked at the boy's face, seeing that he was clearly pleased of hearing her say his name, the ghost of a smile appearing on his lips under the breathing mask. It must be a nice feeling to hear your name for the first time in a while.

Oblivious of her cheerful demeanor, Wally couldn't help but ask.

"Phantom?" he frowned a little in confusion. "That's his name? For real?"

Megan sensed a weird thought come to her… it was a little raspy… cut… like a… laugh, perhaps?

Looking at Phantom's (how great was it to actually be calling him by name!) face, she saw him looking at her friend's direction with tired eyes, all the while the weird thought repeated itself as a whisper behind his main ideas.

**His name… really… Kid Flash?...**

Suddenly, she couldn't stop her laughter. This boy might be tired and damaged, but he clearly had a good spark in him.

"What?!" demanded Wally, getting the impression that she was laughing at him. "What did he think?"

Controlling her giggles she turned slightly to see him.

"He asks if you really are named Kid Flash," and as soon as she said it, the speedster found himself blushing as his friends tried to hide their smiles and snickers.

"Mmm… point taken…" he said while rubbing sheepishly the back of his head, allowing his own smile to return.

**S-sorry…**

Phantom thought to Megan, making her look at him, startled by his apology.

**That's all… Phantom… all I have… sorry…**

And her mirth disappeared as she felt the sadness of his thoughts, realizing what he meant. Whether Phantom was or not his real name, it was all this kid had in his memory to fit that concept's place… she wondered silently how damaged his memory might be.

"Young Phantom," her uncle's voice came from behind cutting into her musings. "Who did this to you?"

The look of fear that spread in those barely opened eyes was enough to tell her that it wasn't a nice memory. The teen looked to the side, trying —in the only way he could— to avoid her eyes.

**People **pain…. **White….**pain… **coats…**pain…** pain… Pain..PAIN PAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN!**

Megan had to shake her head at the barrage of different hazy memories: pictures, words and sensations; she was SO confused by it all! His way of communicating was strange and made her lose her concentration easily.

"He… he is thinking about…. About white coats, and pain… lots and lots of pain," she frowned as her hands rubbed her temples. A thin layer of sweat began covering her skin.

The pain was beginning to affect her.

She closed her eyes and breathed in, mentally trying to ward away from it. A migraine was carving its way into her mind as her facial muscles tensed. "Stop…" she mumbled barely loud enough to be heard by herself.

And the pain did.

It stopped.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of gasping respiration. Looking at Phantom's form she noticed that the boy was sweating heavily, his hands were grasping at the bed sheets making his knuckles go white and his eyes were clenched tightly in obvious pain as he greedily tried to take as much air as the mask could offer him

"Phantom, are you alright?" asked the now alarmed Canary, as she and John moved to look at his vitals —mostly the agitated breathing rate— while the others stood at edge by the sudden change in the teen's condition.

**Ss-sorry…**

And she saw how much he really regretted as he looked at her through the barely open lid of his green eye, the other clenched tightly in exhaustion.

It was then that she finally came to a huge realization: Phantom was trying to shield her from his thoughts. Her hand covered her mouth, eyes widening as she mulled about all the things she had let slide before, but that now made more sense. The first time she collided with his barrier he was the one that had allowed her in, but only because she had mentally begged him to let her. And as consequence of her reckless act she had been subjected to a lot of pain. And yet, when she pleaded for it to stop, the wall materialized around her again, subduing the intensity of his thoughts till he managed to communicate his message without the pain taking over and attacking her. And now that she thought about it, even when that strangely scary sensation attacked her within the bioship, before she had even saw him with her own eyes, it also comforted her. Phantom was trying to avoid hurting her.

She gently took his tense left hand in hers, eyebrows creasing in worry as she watched the teen struggle to recover his breath. She had constantly thought —since their first contact— of how difficult it was for her to understand him, but she never fully realize how difficult it was for him to communicate with her while protecting her at the same time.

"_I'm sorry,"_ she told him through their link. _"I'm making this more difficult for you, we shouldn't asking so much of you right now, you are exhausted," _she conveyed all her sincerity in her words trying to let him know they were just trying to help him. _"Please, don't worry about me; you don't have to protect me, just don't force yourself so much…"_

But he didn't let go of the mental barriers, and his hand's grip on hers tightened slightly as his body slowly stopped shaking so fiercely. It took minutes, but the he finally calmed down, his breathing rate returning to that awfully slow pace, and softly, in his dazed condition, he gave Megan a little smile.

**It… fine… not much…**

She felt a nagging sensation at the back of her head and knew that the idea was not complete, and he wanted her to know something else… more, so much more… but he seemed so tired, like every word he managed to share demanded an inhuman amount of effort on his part, and now, aware of the complexity of his mental defenses, she knew they actually demanded that much of him.

"Megan, I think it will be better if we allowed him to rest," suggested Aqualad, worried that Phantom's condition may get worse because of their constant questions.

She immediately agreed with him. Phantom needed a proper rest to recover, with or without his healing abilities; it was obvious his body had been deprived of sleep for way too long, and his dream-like imprisonment didn't seem to count at all.

"That's alright; he may sleep as much as he needs, but before he must answer one more question," said the Dark Knight from within the shadows. Everyone remained silent as he walked around the bed till the right side of the room so that the kid could actually see and hear him when he spoke. "Phantom," his voice was gentle but still held that unwavering authority note that made it clear who was in control there. "Can you explain why your heart does not beat?"

Megan's eyes widened at the question, behind her, her friends held a similar reaction. It was a direct question and a slightly cruel one. Who knows what terrible thing could be the cause of that, and if only remembering the people that hurt him made Phantom so upset… the boy didn't need any more stress!

The tender squeeze she felt on her hand made her turn around, only to see the relaxed expression on the teen's face. She was dumbfounded. Phantom treated the question as if it wasn't a big deal, nothing like the other question had been. His half lidded eyes held curiosity as he looked at Batman's dark figure.

**You… d-not… know?**

And amused note impregnated his thoughts, part of them almost expecting the dark knight to perceive them himself.

**I am… a ghost…**

Megan frowned at the bizarre declaration. Phantom turned to look at her with comprehensive eyes, his green one mesmerizing her with its luminescence, conveying all his sincerity, asking her to believe what he shared through their minds.

**My heart… never beats… it hasn't… in a long while…**

And she knew he was being honest. Didn't mean she believed it, but she knew HE did. Phantom believed himself a ghost. But then, she couldn't help but think: The cold atmosphere, the strange blood color, the healing abilities, and the lack of a heartbeat… even the 'name' he gave them…

Megan had read about ghosts before in an old book she found in the cave's library. She knew they were the spirits of the deceased, souls that never found their way to the afterlife, and were trapped, doomed into staying in the world of the living hunting people and places, never to rest in peace… and that thought, had disturbed her. She had closed the book and decided she didn't really understood this human perception of the dead. But now, Phantom was saying he was one, and she couldn't stop from thinking that till some point it did make sense. If you were already dead, there was no reason as to why a wound would be fatal, no reason for your heart to beat… the cold temperature would be explained and so would that strange shine in his eyes… but…

But Phantom…

He was so real… she could touch him… she could see his thoughts…

He couldn't be dead, right?

"Megan?" asked Batman for the third time, being patient for she seemed to have 'heard' something she didn't like very much. She blinked once, twice, but did not take her eyes away from the teen's face that was slowly relaxing as he gazed drowsily at her.

**Too tired…**

**Sleep…**

Were the last thoughts she heard before the boy fell into a peaceful slumber. She still skeptic about the idea and wasn't sure if the others would believe it either.

"Megan?" the voice of her senior came once more, this time actually reaching her ears. She shook her head and looked around at the concerned faces of her friends. She blushed a little at being, once more, the center of their attention. "What did he 'say'?" he asked knowing that this time she was listening.

She took a deep breath and turned to look at him.

"He says… his heart never beats. It's normal it doesn't," lowering her eyes she added quickly: "Because he's a ghost."

There was a pregnant silence as each digested what she had said, at least till a soft chuckle was heard by her side. Fortunately, Artemis was fast to elbow Wally making him go quiet again.

"A ghost?" asked the vigilante, narrowing his eyes at Kid Flash's immature reaction, making the boy hide slightly behind the archer. Megan nodded.

"He 'said': My heart never beats, it hasn't in a long while."

Silence once more.

Then the Dark Knight turned around and gave some orders.

"Go to your rooms or back to your respective homes and rest. Robin, you are coming with me. Canary, make sure someone is always in this room. We cannot risk Phantom doing something behind our backs," noticing the protests raising within the teens he soon added. "Or hurting himself further by accident."

Robin followed his mentor out of the room, barely having time to wave a goodbye to his friends and throw a last worried glance to the sleeping teenager.

The rest of the team was led out by Canary who told them each to go their respective ways. She would inform them later about the distribution to keep watch over Phantom as he slept.

"So… a ghost?" asked Wally with a joking tone, earning a few glares from his friends. "Oh, come on! It's too much! The kid actually thinks himself a ghost?"

Megan sighed and turned to look at him with tired and puffy eyes, she had had a hard day.

"Whether it's true or not, it's all he has to offer at this moment. So we have to take it as it comes." Then the martian girl turned away from him and went with the other girls to their respective rooms, Aqualad —taking this as the cue to leave— pulled Superboy away to go see if Wolf was better, before they went to bed.

A soft slap on the back of Wally's head made him turn to the annoyed looking archer, who was frowning at him as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Very sensible of you, genius." She grumbled as she walked to the portals, after all, she had to get to her home soon or her mom would get worried.

Kid Flash deflated a little… well, he sure had a big mouth. With small disappointment for not having been able to talk more with Artemis, he also turned to go for the Z-beam to go home.

* * *

In the softly illuminated room of the infirmary, the young white haired teen rested, his eyes closed and breathing even, but his other senses were highly alert; something he had been unable to stop himself from doing since half of his perception was damaged. There was someone else in the room, and that presence belonged to the one that had called herself 'Canary', but she seemed concentrated on her own thoughts, so he didn't mind her much at all. There was a soft hum filling the air, the rhythm of an electric powered machine… that made him slightly nervous and he wished he could turn it off, as well as the light that shined from the ceiling, he would really like them gone. But overall, he wished he could speak, or at least make a sound, any sound, cause the silence was really too much for him. It reminded him of many things that he had tried his hardest to forget.

If only the red headed girl was there…

She was so nice and for some reason, looking at her made him feel a weird nostalgic sensation in his core… like he knew someone as caring as she was, and he couldn't help but think her hair was really beautiful…

Megan… what a nice girl she was… he really didn't want to hurt her.

But he needed to tell her. She had looked so relieved when she had seen him awake… she had been trying to contact with him for a while, a little after the other teens had entered that dark place where he had been imprisoned. Oh, how he wished he could actually speak with her… but it had been a while since he had forgotten the sound of his own voice, and he refused to use any of the voices that hunted his nightmares to communicate with such a kind person. Unfortunately, that left him in a bad position to share his thoughts, especially since they were constantly plagued by the pain that part of him was constantly in. The pain… oh, yeah… he was in pain, right…

The boy allowed himself to relax further into the strangely soft material he was laid upon. He was grateful for that small consideration, and was overjoyed to hear these weird people actually called him by his name… although he wasn't sure if that was really his name… but anything was better than all those things THEY used to call him… all those things, DON'T THINK ABOUT THOSE 'THINGS'!

Those 'things'…

What 'things' was he thinking about again?

Man, he could get so confused so easily some times, and if he could, he would laugh at himself for his lack of attention… but then again he wouldn't be able to hear his own laugh so that kind of beat the whole purpose of the action, didn't it? Oh, Well… fortunately, it wouldn't be long now…

He knew…

There was not much time left…

But he was thankful, cause now he wouldn't be trapped in that forsaken unit, he wouldn't have to see their sneering faces as they cut him, as they 'learned' of him. He was tired, exhausted, and he knew he couldn't go for much longer. At least, he was in a nicer place now, or so he hoped. He could communicate to some extent; he could feel less of a monster, less of a worthless possession and finally reconcile his being with his most human side. And how he missed that beautifully warm side…

The soft hum of a faraway heartbeat resonated on both of his ears, regardless of their abilities to hear outside sounds. It was so slow, getting slower with each beat. He felt himself smile. No, it wouldn't take long, and it the end that was what he had waited for since a while ago. Since he forgot, since he noticed himself being so alone, so tired, so broken… everyone deserved their rest.

His just took a little longer to come.

But finally, it'd soon be there, and he would embrace it eagerly, for then he would finally stop being, and that was all that he could truly ask for.

But he must admit it was kind of sad.

Cause for the first time in a really long while, he had met some interesting people. So weird they were… they didn't seem to want to do anything to him… that was so nice of them… but…

He barely had met them. He had barely said hi…

And now, soon he'll have to say Goodbye… A shame, indeed.

And with that thought, the tired creature finally allowed himself to sink into unconsciousness; the soft lullaby of that almost nonexistent beat reassured him, as a parent would to a child, that the nightmares will not come this time, and sighing contently before falling truly asleep, the boy allowed himself to believe in his own lie.

* * *

Well, that was it.

See you next week!

R&R


	7. Thank you

Happy Monday everyone!

So I'm leaving the new chapter here. **Allow me to say a few things before we start**:

It's been a long while since I last saw the Justice League, and I must admit I'm not really very knowledgeable about DC and stuff cause here in Peru we didn't get to buy the comics easily while growing up, so I'm just working with what I have.

Therefore, if something doesn't fit with your knowledge of the comic or the cartoons, please, let it slide and think of this as an Alternate Universe story. One that exists in a Universe where Danny Phantom and Young Justice characters' can actually coexist.

I hope this doesn't bother you too much. I'll try my best to give sense to most of the things that I may happen in this story.

And another thing.

**This is a little petition to the reviewer whose penname is "newboy":**

I really appreciate every review I receive for they help me know if I did something right or if there are things to improve. But I would really appreciate it if you could limit your reviews to just one per chapter, and try not to answer another reviewer with a review. I hope this doesn't bother you much. I would have asked this in private but it seems I can't PM you, so, here it is.

Well, that was all!

So, let's begin.

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Seven

Thank you

* * *

"Ectoplasm," heard the faithful servant as the Dark Knight watched intently the huge screen of his main computer. And although, the butler knew that the vigilante might have been talking to himself like he usually did when he believed himself alone or was too deep into an investigation, he still answered, more out of custom than actual curiosity.

"Ectoplasm, sir?" he asked placing a coffee mug by the man's right hand, careful to leave it far enough so that his typing would not accidently cause it to be pushed to the floor.

Turning slightly, the man gave a considering glance to his dear old friend. He was so consumed by his work he had forgotten Alfred was going to bring him his coffee. Richard was already asleep, so he was left alone in the cave. Smiling, the —now cowl-less— vigilante took an appreciating sip from the warm mug. There were only counted people in the world that were able to sneak up on him, and he was glad that Alfred was one of them. The butler had his ways of making an overbearing silence turn into a more companionable one. And as always, his coffee was magnificent.

"Yes, Alfred. Ectoplasm."

The seasoned man took a thoughtful stance for a second before closing his eyes in defeat.

"I must say sir, I'm not really familiar with then term." Bruce smiled again briefly, placing his coffee mug on the side. Then he turned serious as he looked back at the screen, bringing up the picture of some kind of molecular structure.

"Tell me, have you heard about the team's new 'guest'?" he asked, his voice held a hidden note of worry that only the trained ears of the butler could detect.

"I believe I've heard about it. The young man trapped within a mysterious containment unit in the wreckage of a truck accident. The young master appeared to be mumbling to himself about a 'ghost-boy' before going to bed," the quirk in the butler's eyebrow allowed the hero to notice his subtle skepticism.

"Do you believe in ghosts, Alfred?" he asked, a thin layer of playfulness was very well hidden within his question. Alfred was surprised that his master was actually playing around with him again. Since the incident with 'The Light', the dark hero had been extremely uptight whenever he delved into an investigation, and even when he wasn't in uniform, jokes and smiles had been almost completely vanquished from his usual demeanor. And though, he could easily admit that Master Bruce —outside from his 'Playboy-millionaire-philanthropist' act before the public eye— was not really a smiling/joking kind of person, he also would confess that he was beginning to get worried for his master's mental welfare. He and the young master had been missing those rare moments in which the dark knight would give a clever comment or make a taunting motion, moments that allowed them to know that even Bruce had a playful side of his own.

Alfred allowed a small smile to appear, he was so relieved that his master was allowing himself a little moment of respite, even in the face of a new mystery. It placed his heart at ease knowing that the boy he had raised and cared for dearly for so long would be ok in time. Clearing his throat he faced 'little Bruce's' taunting with his own wise answer.

"No, I must confess I've never really given it much of a thought. But with all the strange things that happen in our world, I believe it would be cynical of me to just scratch it as impossible."

The dark knight nodded. He himself thought that way. He hadn't discarded their existence but in the light of the lack of evidence had decided to leave it aside till he could prove otherwise. He knew magic was real, aliens as well; he dealt with them on daily basis. He believed that the essence of a person could linger sometimes and form something akin to a ghost, a shadow perhaps, that some people could manipulate with their powers… but this kind of ghost, it wasn't within his range of possibilities. An actual physical ghost shouldn't be possible. But now, he was not so sure.

"The boy that they found within that unit declared he was a ghost. At first, I thought that he was confused since he was in a really bad condition. Maybe, he confused the terms, or his thoughts were not explained clearly enough for Miss Martian to understand them. But," he turned to the butler. "I suddenly remembered Robin's unidentified sample. I knew I had seen it somewhere, but where I could not seem to remember, at least not till the subject of ghosts came around."

The skeptical look came back to the elder's expression.

"Are you telling me, Sir, that this substance is ghost related?"

"Indeed," with a small smirk on his face, Batman begun explaining. "Some time ago, the representative of a small company dedicated to manufacturing defensive weapons shared with Wayne enterprises a few prints for something called 'ecto-gun' stating it was meant to be a weapon able to hurt ghosts. He seemed pretty convinced that it would be needed in the future and that it was a huge opportunity for investment. I —after some consideration— chose to deny the proposition, having come to the conclusion that it was probably a way to get investment for the production of military weaponry under the cover of satisfying people's superstitions. But the person insisted that I kept a copy of those files just in case; you never know what could turn up to be useful. And it seems he was right, though not in the way he probably hoped for. The weapons he proposed to create were going to be powered up by the synthetic version of a substance denominated 'ectoplasm', or in his words: ghostly energy. When I came back to the cave I searched up the file and compared the composition to the sample Robin took." Making a few clicks, two pictures appeared on the screen: one with the description 'Synthetic Ectoplasm' and the other with the simple title of 'sample'.

"Both are identical," said the butler, allowing himself to get closer; it seemed his curiosity had been successfully spiked.

"Yes, because they are both synthetic ectoplasm. At least, 72% of Robin's sample is made of that stuff," said the dark knight bringing other pictures up on the screen before he continued his explanation. "After confirming that, I went to search for more explanations about ectoplasm. Apparently, modern parapsychology explains it as the raw energy that makes up the structure of a ghost or spiritual being. The natural energy of which they are made up from. Condensed ectoplasm creates the perceived from of what humans denominate as ghosts." Looking up to an article on the screen he zoomed on a picture of its components. "A couple of experts decoded the molecular construction of the condense form of the substance; it is truly similar to the synthetic one, but remains superior in its ability to conduct energy."

"The original is a natural formation, so it's ideal for its purpose," mused the butler.

"Yes, it is. But this is where the real mystery appears."

Confused the servant turned to his master.

"Why would you say that, sir?"

Bringing another picture up by the side of the image labeled as 'raw ectoplasm', Batman allowed Alfred to see the similitude.

"This is a sample of the unidentified substance found within the teen's 'blood'."

Eyes widening at the pictures, Alfred turned to his master's frowning face. "But sir, if that is true… then…"

Nodding with a grim expression the man answered to his old friend.

"The boy probably wasn't lying when he said he was dead."

* * *

For the tenth time in the past half hour, Conner wondered why he had actually offered to be the first one to take upon guarding duty as Phantom slept. The boy remained completely immobile as the sound of his slow breathing filled the otherwise silent room. He had been sleeping for some time now, according to Black Canary, only opening his one working eye once in the early morning for a few minutes before falling back into slumber. Conner couldn't really blame him, with all those wound and those dark rings around his eyes, the boy probably would sleep till oblivion!

He shook his head. He wasn't supposed to think about that. But then again… the boy did intrigue him.

When Robin had arrived that morning to share the little info he got from Batman about the substance he called 'ectoplasm' they had been consternated. Especially Wally, who immediately tried to deny every possibility of Phantom being an actual ghost. Conner had never seen a ghost, and his knowledge about them was limited because —apparently— it wasn't important enough for CADMUS to make him learn about such 'trivial' things. His hands fisted in frustration, right then he didn't find it so trivial at all. In fact, he wished he knew more!

Conner was angry and really frustrated. He did not have Robin's knowledge or Megan's link, so he felt truly useless by simply being there. Yes, he was fulfilling a mission, but he still felt he needed to help the boy somehow, and he was so powerless to do so.

His teeth clenched, he was having a bad day, and it was barely 11 in the morning!

His thoughts were attacking him by burning doubts, millions of whispers at once, so many hidden wounds coming out to bother him and consume his mental state… How he wished he could think clearly for once!

Suddenly, he gasped. A cold feeling crept over him, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. A gentle haze covered his thoughts before his emotional turmoil was pacified, he was suddenly at ease. In a matter of seconds, Conner felt as if he could think clearly for the first time in hours. All worries left aside, covered by a soft layer of frost. The young clone sighed with a relaxed expression, his tense muscles began uncoiling themselves as he let go of all his anger. When he finally opened his eyes he found that one green half lidded eye was looking at him curiously from the side. Phantom was awake. How long had he been awake for? Conner didn't know. The lack of a heartbeat and a normal breathing pattern made it difficult for him to discern his condition.

Not wishing to fall back into his hole of self pity, the kryptonian did the only thing he could think about, talk.

"I… I'm sorry," he said trying to control his nervousness —or shyness if he were to be honest— in front of Phantom. He gave an apologetic smile as he added: "I hope I didn't bother you while you were sleeping."

Superboy was not really sure what he was expecting to get with this one-sided conversation. Phantom simply kept looking at him as if that was the best thing he could do, and perhaps it was. But he really wished they could have at least some kind of communication. He could remember that when he first woke up, he was really eager to use his own voice. But he was very nervous of what others would say and that made him very quiet, after all, he was a clone: he was undeserving of even his original's appreciation, or so he used to believe back then. He didn't know Phantom's story, but he knew that the boy might be as tired of this silence as he used to be. So he decided to just follow his instincts… maybe being true to them would be better this time.

"I hate silence…" he said as he leaned to the front, placing his elbows over his tights as he watched from his chair towards Phantom's laying form, trying his best to read any signs he might give. "I have a very good sense of hearing, so when a room is in silence I accidently perceive sounds of things outside of it, far away, and that can get very annoying very fast."

The other teen's eye shined a little brighter. It seemed he was paying close attention. Giving a sheepish smile, Conner risked making a question.

"Could it be… that you are tired of the silence too?"

A slow movement called his attention. Phantom's left hand, his index finger, slowly rose and fell once. The older teen's eyes widened.

"W-was that a yes?"

The motion repeated itself. A grin spread through Conner's face.

"Then, can you sign 'no'?"

Two taps. A 'no'. Conner felt an exhilarating feeling grow within his chest, he could communicate!

"Wonderful," he said, bringing his chair closer to the bed by Phantom's left side. "Would you like me to speak to you?"

One slow tap.

"Ok," he said, really excited by this, and so he decided that he should be completely honest with his new 'friend'. "By the way, I know what I said the other day, but my real name is Conner, it was given to me by Megan, you know, the beautiful girl with the red hair and green face? Well, that's actually a pretty weird story…"

The young clone was surprised by how much the boy seemed to appreciate stories about trivial things in his daily life, but he guessed it might have been really long since someone actually bothered to talk to him as an equal. And he was completely right on that.

All the while, as Conner talked, Phantom did his very best to listen to every single one of his words. Unfortunately, being in his slightly delusional state, he might not have gotten half of what the older teen was saying, but at least, the simple sound of a now familiar voice was soothing to his nerves. The young kryptonian would never know how much that simple action made the boy's conditions a lot more bearable.

* * *

When Zatanna and Artemis took over after a few hours, they were surprised to find a very talkative Conner with a barely conscious Phantom. The Kryptonian boy had never talked so much around them, but he seemed eager to share anything with the 'ghost' boy. Who would have known Conner had such an amiable side.

When he noticed they had come to replace him, he —almost reluctantly— said goodbye to Phantom and walked to meet them by the door. Before he left, he told the girls that Phantom could give basic 'yes' or 'no' answers by tapping the bed with his index once or twice respectively. They were surprised that Superboy had managed that much communication with their 'guest', and they couldn't help but smile at the slightly proud expression he now sported because of this. Part of them was relieved; they had been worried for their friend's sudden gloomier attitude. But now, he seemed better, and that was all they could ask for.

Once the boy had left, the two girls frowned as they turned to the resting teen.

"Do you think he's really a ghost?" asked Artemis with a wary expression.

"I'm not sure… he does have a kind of spiritual feeling about him… but I don't think he's the same as…"

"Yeah, not the same as 'Secret'," completed Artemis. The experience they had shared with the mysterious ghost of the young murdered girl was still fresh in their minds regardless of the time that had already passed. They had fulfilled their promised and made sure she got a proper burial once the case was closed. But they had kept her intervention a secret from the entire team, not wanting to be labeled as crazy by the less mature members of the group. But now, there was a 'ghost' amongst them in their hideout… what would they say now, they wondered.

"Hey, Artemis… I think he's looking at us…" the two girls went back to look at the 'guest', who was tiredly looking at them with that one green eye. The girls recoiled slightly at the intensity of that gaze, a little unnerved that he didn't stop it after a few seconds. Was he expecting them to do something? Did he want them to leave? Or to stay?

"Phantom? Do you need anything?" asked Zatanna, not really sure of what else to do. They had only been alone in the room with him for less than ten minutes and they were already at a loss of how to act.

The teen's index tapped the bed once. He wanted something… what could it be?

"Are you in pain?" asked the archer, wondering if his medication actually helped him at all. The IV had been connected to him administrating a constant dose of morphine. The Manhunter had deemed it a worthy effort to try and mitigate the pain he must have been in. But the boy's condition showed little to no difference, so maybe it wasn't really helpful.

The Phantom's finger tapped a 'no'. Truth was he might have forgotten the pain for a while since he was mostly numb… or it could have been something else… but he didn't really care at all.

"Then…" the girls looked at each other in confusion. "What could be bothering him?"

Zatanna watched the boy for a while, trying to read his body language to the best of her abilities. Phantom appeared to notice this, and he did his best to communicate with actions. His eyes closed tightly before he opened them and looked to the ceiling before grimacing a little, and then looked over to the magician girl once more. He repeated this motion a few more times.

"Could it be the lights are bothering you?" a single tap was her answer. "Artemis, lower the lights' intensity," she said to her friend. The archer nodded and moved to the switch to lower the lights, casting the room in shadows. Phantom's eyes immediately relaxed as he let out a silent sigh. He turned his head a little to the girls and through his mask he offered them a little smile. Soon, his eyes fell closed from the exhaustion of the hours spent awake and in a few seconds he was out cold.

The two girls looked at each other and shrugged. Who knew 'ghosts' needed sleep? Taking a seat, they dedicated themselves to silently observe the young teen. Somewhere during their guarding time, they could have sworn they saw a weird aura evaporate from Phantom's body… but they scratched it to a simple illusion created by the shadows of the room. But one thing they were sure about: Phantom was nothing like 'Secret', so could that mean he was not actually a ghost?

* * *

When Megan, Kaldur and Rocket's turn came around, Megan was surprised to find a very drowsy Phantom, resting limply on his bed. It was strange for her that their new 'friend' seemed to be even more exhausted than he had been the day before, even thought he had been sleeping almost throughout the whole day.

Kaldur and Rocket stood at a side of the room, just watching the young martian girl interact with their silent 'guest'.

Megan would smile from time to time, letting the other's know she was sharing thoughts with the boy. She would get up from her chair and gently move Phantom's pillow, asking a soft 'better'? after doing so. Or she would move his mask a little, since the teen seemed almost unable to move by himself.

Kaldur frowned. He knew something was up when only after half an hour of being awake, Phantom fell asleep once more. Megan was the only one in the team that could actually 'hear' to some extend the teen's thoughts, it was a golden opportunity to communicate anything he might wish to, and yet the boy seemed too tired to even care. Looking at Rocket he saw the same concern mirrored in her face. He wasn't the only one to notice the obvious deterioration in their young guest.

'_Something is not right…_' said Megan through their link, the worry in her mental voice was clear. So they spent the next hours sharing their thoughts on the situation.

* * *

Hours later…

While Robin and Kid Flash had taken over guarding duty, the young martian was trying to alleviate her constant worry by baking a nice banana cake to share with her dear friends. She felt so tired; her link had taken a toll out of her. She had never communicated with a person that actually lacked a mental voice to speak with. Uncle John had explained to her before leaving, that since Phantom had lost his voice in —probably— a violent way some while ago, it was likely that he did not remember his own voice's sound, and because he did not, his thoughts were not organized by the natural way a talking person would, and he found himself constantly confused and overtaken by memories and irrelevant thoughts. He had advised to keep the communication at a low, because she could develop a great deal of mental exhaustion. But, regardless of his warnings, Megan couldn't stop herself from doing it.

She sighed once more as she mixed the ingredients with her wooden spoon. She couldn't stay away for too long, she knew Phantom needed to say things. There was always a sense of desperation when he 'said' something to her, as if he had no time to do it. Her movements slowed down as she thought that…

"He is so tired…" she mumbled with sadness.

"Who is tired?"

The voice startled her and she almost lost her mixing bowl. Fortunately, she was able to stop herself from throwing the mix to the ceiling.

"Megan?" asked Superboy from behind her with some concern latched in his voice. "You alright?"

The girl turned to face her boyfriend, offering a small smile as she tried to convince him that everything was fine.

"Yes… is only… I was thinking, that's all."

Conner sat at one of the stools in the kitchen watching her closely.

"I've just finished looking after Wolf; he seems more at ease out of the cave, so I let him stay there."

The girl nodded absent mindedly and continued working on her mix.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked suddenly unable to contain his worry for her, she was developing bags under her eyes, perhaps it was time for her to stop and take a rest.

She reluctantly answered.

"Well… it was about Phantom…"

"What about him?" now Conner was even more worried.

She sighed again.

"Well… I think he is even more tired than yesterday… and Kaldur and Rocket said he might be getting sicker…"

Conner's eyes widened as he digested that new information.

"You sure? I… well, he was little communicative in the morning…"

The girl nodded at that. Phantom really wanted to talk with them… but by the end of the day… well, it just seemed he was too tired to mind trying at all.

"It's jus—"

Her answer was cut short, for —suddenly— everything around her disappeared as she was swallowed by a bright light.

She blinked heavily before coming to her senses and noticing her new surroundings. She found herself back in that white and frozen wasteland. Just like when she had made the first connection with Phantom. Then, a blurry figure appeared in front of her. It was foggy and seemed to come and go out of focus every few seconds, but she could make out the form of a person.

_"Phantom…?"_

The white figure nodded slowly.

**Megan… sorry…**

His thoughts were shared with her, but they appeared weaker, almost as if they were fading away.

**Megan… thank you…**

_"What?"_

**Thank you…**

She felt a tugging force that pulled her away from his figure and back into the bright light.

And once she opened her eyes she knew she was back. Conner was shaking her shoulders in a frantic way asking her to answer him. She let go of her mixing bowl as her eyes widened. Then, without warning, she turned around and run at her top speed, leaving a confused Conner behind. She needed to get into the infirmary NOW!

Oo

"Hey… i-is that what I think it is?" said Robin as he pointed to the machine they had hooked up Phantom to along with the breathing mask.

A low 'bip' sound filled the room.

"What?!" Wally sat straight on his chair and looked at the small jump on the otherwise flat line. "No way!"

But the machine didn't lie. It repeated its sound and soon, it became a constant. The boy in the bed became restless. His right hand moved to his chest, clawing weakly at the bandages that covered it as his eyes clenched in obvious pain.

"A heartbeat…" Robin's masked eyes widened as he got closer to the bed. "His heart… it's actually beating?"

Suddenly, the door was yanked open taking the two teens by surprise. A disheveled looking Megan entered the room panting and rushed to Phantom's bedside mumbling all the way.

"No… don't do this… please, don't do this, please," she said over and over again making them feel even more confused about the situation.

Conner entered the room just in time to see something strange happen.

A bright ring of light materialized around Phantom's waist and as it divided, the light covered the whole room. They heard a loud scream and knew it was Megan's, then the sound of something falling. And finally, the thing that they had come to really hate in the past few days…

Silence.

* * *

Well , there it is.

Hope you enjoyed it.

See you next week!

R&R


	8. The helpful and the biased

Happy Monday everyone! May you have an excellent day!

So, here I'll leave chapter eight for your enjoyment. Hope you like it!

Oh, an especial thanks to 'Fantasy93' who made a nice looking fan-art of Danny's appearance.

And a little recommendation, to anyone that likes heroes and selfless people, you might enjoy listening to this song: "**The Ballad of Jeremiah Peacekeeper**" from Poets of the Fall. I was listening to it while writing this chapter… it's such a good song ;_;

Ok, let's begin!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Eight

The helpful and the biased

* * *

'It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.'

-Sherlock Holmes

* * *

There was only one thing he could actually say for sure, and it was that the boy that laid in front of him in the infirmary bed was not the same one that had been there for the past 38 hours. No matter if three witnesses were present, it was still almost impossible to make both pictures agree with each other, especially when the change supposedly happened in a matter of seconds. And had he not worked with Captain Marvel for a good while he would have been even more reluctant to accept the idea.

According to those witnesses, everything began with the appearance of the missing heartbeat. He took a moment to regard the small 'bip' sound emitted by the heart monitor, another mystery to solve, why would a dead heart begin working now? Or perhaps it was never dead? Concentrating himself back to the main issue he went through the testimony of the teens. After the heart monitor begun answering, the room was covered in light for a few seconds, blinding them from the change itself. Once the light disappeared, their 'guest' had been replaced with a new stranger, one that was in worse condition that Phantom had been.

The white hair was replaced with obsidian, matted and dirty with sweat and blood. Instead of pale white, the skin was now a sickly grayish pale color. The bags under his eyes, now slightly sunken, turned almost completely purple, as if someone had punched the kid in both eyes, and —surprisingly— the green eye turned a glazed over blue like its twin. This made him think that his original color might have been blue, since the 'change' only affected the eye that still worked. The teen's body now showed signs of serious starvation and dehydration, which was strange, for in order for him to get to such condition he would need to go through more than a week without food and at least three days without water. Only hours ago he was almost in good condition, having only mild signs of malnourishment, but aside from being slightly underweight, he appeared in the way to complete recovery… the change was alarming. And yet, the most surprising part might have been his blood. A test sample taken by Canary showed it had turned a deep crimson that under the microscope appeared very human-like, the normal group of cells were all present as they should, and the only thing out of place was a slight green sheen that touched their nucleus and lighted slightly every few seconds. It was as if each blood cell had the required codes in them to change from one state to the other latent within their DNA structure. A bigger mystery had appeared, but the time to solve it had been cut short.

Looking back at the heart monitor, Batman scowled. That heartbeat was more of a bad omen than the relief the elder heroes had thought it was at first. His eyes narrowed at the jumping line reading the boy's heart, for he could easily compare it to a regressive count. Each second it appeared to grow closer and closer to the permanent 'stop'.

If he had to be completely honest, he would have to admit that the situation was truly disheartening, things turned so different from what they were only a few hours ago.

He was the only person present in the room, standing by the teen's side, who —in his complete silence and broken appearance— was the epitome of loneliness. The team that only a while ago was fussing over the hurt teenager was now directing their complete attention to their friend in need: Megan. The young martian girl had come to the room just in time to presence Phantom's metamorphosis, screaming loudly as the light covered the whole place. And, once the others were able to see again, they had been terrified by both: the boy's new appearance and Megan's lack of consciousness, one of her hands firmly holding onto Phantom's left.

The dark knight closed his eyes in slight exasperation.

If the report was true, during a whole minute nobody moved to help, not Conner, not Kid Flash, not even Robin. The three stood frozen in place as the machines attached to the sleeping boy alerted the senior heroes of the cease in function of Phantom's heart and lungs. Batman couldn't help but grimace. Three young heroes had basically stood in line, frozen in confusion, while someone had almost died in front of them. The team still needed a lot more training and experience if that was the best they could do under confusing circumstances. They were lucky that Phantom survived that temporary collapse, even if technically they had believed he was already dead. But, things only seemed to complicate more after the teens overcame their shock.

A strange sense of betrayal had taken over the young heroes; a sense that was only partially justified in Batman's opinion. Phantom had yet to be proven guilty for Miss Martian's condition and even then, it could also be said that the team had been rather reckless in their treatment towards the boy. Megan shouldn't have ignored her uncle's advice, and linked so deeply with the kid; and the team shouldn't have created any expectations about a person they hardly even knew. But, even he, in his stoic demeanor, couldn't help but being drawn closer to the boy. His condition was truly dire, and they had been unable to stop Phantom from drifting into a coma, only mere minutes after he 'revived'. There was little they could do, even now. For some reason the kid's body was rejecting any medicine they gave him, and all their efforts to offer some kind of nourishment barely scrapped on his condition. Even when he looked like a human, Phantom's body didn't react to human treatment in a normal way. If only the vigilante understood what the kid really was, then perhaps…

It was a sad reality, one that he personally didn't want to accept, but the way the boy was, he wouldn't last long. The dark hero closed his eyes as he turned around. Yes, it was sad, but perhaps, what made it even worse was the fact that the team that had rescued him had turned their backs on him so fast. He couldn't blame them thought, everyone had been a little more sensible to threats since the affair with the Light last New Year; and with Megan unconscious, the team was reasoning things less and acting more out of fear and rage. They were making biased judgments.

Batman sighed as he left the room. He needed to go back to the cave to investigate a few more things. A new possibility had suddenly appeared with this mysterious transformation, and some old headlines had come to his mind. He could swear he had seen the kid's face somewhere else, and since he couldn't really help his condition anymore by staying, and he couldn't change the team's view for they had to realize their mistakes by themselves, he decided to do something more useful with his time, find out where he had seen Phantom before.

* * *

The team stood in silence inside Megan's room. Her uncle was inspecting her condition, trying to find the reason for her unconscious state. It had been four hours since she fainted and every second that went by was torture to their regretful minds.

Standing by the right corner of her room, stood the Aqualad. Even as he tried, remembering he was to be strong for the team's sake, he couldn't stop blaming himself. He was the one that took the final decision to bring Phantom into their home. The creature had been hiding his real appearance from the start and the moment he finally reveled himself, Megan fell unconscious. Was it on purpose? Was it part of a plan he came to fulfill or did someone else used him to complete it? Was he created in order to take down their psychic link?

Looking at his other friends, he knew that they felt the same way: lost, confused, betrayed… and guilty; especially Conner, who had been holding into Megan's hand since he reacted to her unconscious form, and now hold to it as he waited for the Manhunter to finish his exploring her mind.

The silence was weighting them down, like a huge anvil ready to fall over their heads.

"A ghost… yeah… and we almost believed it…" Artemis whispered from the side.

"He better not have hurt her, or else." Added an angered Wally.

"He didn't look very well. I doubt he meant any harm," the boy wonder turned slightly to face them with a frown. "It's not fair to accuse him like that, we still don't know many—".

"Keep quiet," the sudden demand made the teens straighten and close their mouths. Conner was having a bad time.

There was no possible way for the kyptonian boy to feel worse than he already did. He should have stopped Megan from linking with the kid. She was obviously getting more and more exhausted with every connection… but she seemed so eager to share with him. Just as he had been, only hours ago. The boy shook his head taking the idea out of his head, because it brought a lot of confusing and unwanted thoughts to mind. He wasn't sure whether Phantom did this on purpose or not, but that really didn't matter, the important thing was that the boy was a virtual stranger, they barely knew his 'name', and yet they allowed themselves to lower their defenses and now Megan was paying the price for their recklessness.

He had been such an idiot… The worst might be that feeling of betrayal growing in him, destroying those happy energies he had been fueled with hours ago. He was such a mess now.

The elder Martian sighed deeply as he finally opened his eyes, taking his hand away from his niece's right temple.

Conner turned to him with a saddened expression. "Is she ok?"

J'onn looked at each of the disconcerted faces of the teens, his tired eyes closing as he answered in a soft voice. "Her body is completely fine, not a single wound. But her mind is absent." The gasps of a few of the teens filled the silence. "I believe she accidently connected with Phantom before he drifted into a coma and couldn't let go in time. Both might be trapped within his mind."

"Accidently or on purpose?" asked Kid Flash with an angry scowl. Behind him, Robin frowned a little at his friend's barely hidden accusation.

The martian rubbed his temple softly, his worry leaving him mentally exhausted. "Whether the young boy intended for this to happen or not, I can't tell. All I know at the moment is that Megan won't wake up till her mind finds its way back. And right now, the best chances we have of that happening are to help Phantom remain in a stable condition… as difficult as that may." Walking slowly to the door, decided to go check on the other teen's condition, he added: "Don't allow your emotions to cloud your judgment. You might come to regret it later."

And the teens were left alone.

"I shouldn't have encouraged her to communicate with him." Said Conner, beating himself mentally.

"That's not true Supey, you know no one thought this could happen," Robin looked at the others as if asking them for some help, but found that no one could offer their support, for they were all thinking in the same lines as Superboy.

After a few minutes of silence, Aqualad turned to them.

"I guess, all we can really do now is wait." He told them in a solemn voice.

"I hate waiting," mumbled Conner as his hands hold on tighter to Megan's right.

* * *

Hours later…

Robin found himself back in the infirmary. About six hours ago the Manhunter and the other senior heroes had left the room, having done all they could, and resorting to coming to look at the boy's development once every hour. That was fine, after all, the machines were wired up to the mainframe of the cave, so if something changed in Phantom's condition, they would know. But their lack of presence offered Robin the chance to sneak in and finally get a closer look at the situation for himself.

Looking at the teen's 'serene' expression made him want to really be mad at him for what happened to Megan… but he also found he couldn't. It simply wasn't logical, and being a detective meant Robin had to work based on logic most of the time. Phantom was in no condition to actually try and do someone harm, and staying mad at him for something he did not do on purpose would be like hating Red Arrow for unwillingly betraying them to The Light. He simply couldn't do that.

And —admittedly— he felt a little sad about the teen's condition. The boy had been connected to life support for he was unable to keep himself stable; his breathing rate had been so erratic that it could have stopped at any second. Phantom was dying; there was no doubt on that. As a matter of fact, he might have died for a while back when he changed forms. For about a minute, Phantom did not breath, he did not move, and his recently recovered heartbeat disappeared once more. Robin had been so consternated by the light show, the metamorphosis and Megan's condition that he had —and he was still ashamed to remember it— barely moved when all the machines cried in alarm at the apparent 'death'. Red Tornado and Canary came running into the room and assessed the situation with the calm but swift demeanor that only years of experience could grant. Yet, before they could start the resuscitation procedures, Phantom came back to life. With a painful spasm, his chest lifted from the bed as his back arched, and he took a deep gulp of air, before falling back against the mattress, the machines registering once more his weak heart and the rapid and unstable breathing rate. He was in so much pain… Robin remembered that clearly…

But it was in that moment that the other's finally reacted, and their first action was to run to Megan's side, who had been moved away from the bed by Tornado so they could work on the boy's condition. Conner immediately took her in his arms and tried to wake her up. It wasn't till minutes later that they understood she wasn't simply passed out. And so the regretful thoughts began.

He couldn't really blame the others, but having a more analytical mind, Robin only needed one glance to see that Megan's body received no outside damage. It was her mind he was more worried about. But also, it was this that captivated his attention the most; for you see, he was trained to search for truth even in places where it didn't seem likely to be, and the knowledge of Megan only being separated from her body brought him a tempting but unusual idea: If Phantom had remained 'dead' the moment his mind had been attached to Megan's, there was a high probability that Megan would have been forced to follow, her body either dying or becoming a permanent vegetal. But Phantom had come back, per se (if he wasn't dead from the start… being a 'ghost' and all), and because of that, there was still hope of getting her back as well. SO, if Phantom's condition was a huge ruse to convince them to let him in so he may kill someone —particularly, their psychic link— then either: a) the plan didn't work, or b) Phantom didn't go along with it. But to think someone would really try to get to them using an 'agent' so damaged and at life risk like Phantom was not very convincing either. Those two points in data didn't coincide very well. It was a much stronger possibility if the boy was simply a hurt person that was not aware of most of the things that were happening to him or around him, and that somehow Megan had known something bad —namely: 'the change'— was going to happen and therefore, rushed to his side, accidently trapping herself within his mind. Megan had constantly mention how the boy was trying to protect her from the pain his thoughts brought and it was only logical to assume that, confronted with the chance of him being in danger, and taking Megan's nature into account, she would have tried to do something regardless of how reckless it was. If this was the case, then that left only two possible options, two that made him regret the team's reaction to the situation, cause either: a) Phantom's body simply restarted itself after having 'died' for a whole minute, or b) Phantom somehow forced his own body to react after noticing Miss M's intrusion, and is still alive just for the sake of keeping her safe. It was a slightly farfetched idea, but he couldn't help but feeling conveyed to think this was the most probable answer; after all, he had protected her before, why wouldn't he now?

"You seem in awfully deep thought."

Allowing a slightly exasperated sigh to escape his mouth, the boy wonder turned to see his speedster friend. The moment he said he was going to see how the situation was with Phantom, KF basically flipped out. He began to tell him about the many reasons as to why he shouldn't risk being so close that guy and all. And to Wally's defense, Robin knew he was just worried about his well being. The red haired teen had been really nervous and frustrated with this whole ordeal, especially since it defied everything his skeptical mind considered logical. But his outright hostility in regards of Phantom ever since Megan fell unconscious was a little annoying in Robin's opinion.

"I'm just looking at all the angles available, that's all." He mumbled, looking closer to the unconscious teen's face, ignoring the breathing tube in his mouth, and concentrating on the purple shades under his eyes. The kid couldn't look sicker than he did at the moment, and if not for the machines proving he was still alive, Robin would have declared him a corpse. To accuse this kid of doing something to someone was almost preposterous.

"You sure you should get so close?" said his friend, obviously getting restless with Robin's antics.

Sighing again, the young detective turned to his friend.

"KF, it's not like he's going to jump awake from a deep coma just because someone got closer."

Taken aback by his friend's annoyed answer, the speedster rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I know… but being a little careful never hurt anybody, right?"

Shaking his head, the boy wonder straightened up.

"Wally… I get you're uncomfortable with the situation. You're worried about Megan, and this has brought a lot of bad memories from last year to all our minds. But should we really rule out Phantom's innocence, simply because of that?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, the older teen answered his friend.

"Dude, it's not that I don't know this guy may not have done it on purpose… but he was obviously lying to us," he said, pointing accusatorily towards the resting body on the bed. "He said he was a ghost. A GHOST! Please! Look at him, he was human all along, and he must have known it. So we can't rule out that he may have done that on purpose either."

"I still don't get the ghost part either… but what if he really believed it?"

"Uh? Rob, what do you mean by that?" asked the teen with a bewildered expression.

"I mean… what if Phantom is somehow a meta-human and his powers were related to ghosts?" looking at the disbelieving scowl on Wally's face, Robin decided to change the approach. "Ok, so maybe that's a little too farfetched," he offered. "But how about a brain wash? What if the person that hurt him this much made him believe that he was a ghost of some sort? Ergo: a Phantom. He said it was his name right?" by then he could almost see the gears moving inside his friend's head, after all, one of the things that the two of them had in common was an undying sense of curiosity. Wally simply chose to draw the line at the supernatural. "Maybe they brainwashed him to only remember those things. So, technically, if he believed it he wasn't lying."

Rubbing at his chin, the speedster seemed to be agreeing with his friend's view.

"Ok, so maybe that wasn't a lie. But, what about Megan? He must have done something right?"

Robin's brows creased, he only had a few hypotheses, nothing irrefutable, so he could only offer his personal view on the matter.

"Well… I don't really know if he meant it, or if he was meant to do this. But somehow, I doubt he consciously pulled on Megan's mind to his. If you remember correctly, it was her that came into the room willingly; she was the one that took a hold on his hand… so… maybe it was her mistake?"

The speedster's eyes widened exponentially at his suggestion.

"Dude! You better don't let Conner hear you say that, not even joking! He would pummel you!"

With a sheepish expression the boy wonder agreed… that would be dangerous… but it still could be true.

"Besides," his friend's voice made him look at him. "You remember all she was mumbling about, right? Pleading him not to 'do' something?" the detective nodded. "Well… how about he had threatened her through the link or something? What if he was going to do something bad and she knew it?"

Robin grimaced at his friend's deduction, it was a possibility but it was highly biased by his own emotions.

"Wally, I'll admit that it could be possible, but it easily could be the other way around. Maybe she was trying to help him, to stop something bad from happening to him, instead of him doing something bad to her… and if you remember clearly, Megan's expression didn't show fear towards him… I say it was rather sad and helpless, the way it had been when he first arrived and we didn't know what to do for him."

The older teen looked intently at his friend's masked eyes, and then lowered his gaze to Phantom's barely alive form and for a second he could see his friend's point. The guy didn't really seem like he was doing something bad on purpose… unless dying a slow and painful death could be considered 'on purpose', the mere concept making him shiver. Ruffling his hair to hide his nervousness, he groaned.

"Oh, man… this is too much stuff to take in…"and sighing once more, he gave up. "Ok, so you might be right. He might not be responsible for this and, dare I say it, there is a slim possibility —a VERY slim possibility— of this being caused by Megan's own actions, but … but it's still confusing, TOO confusing. And I simply will not accept the 'ghost' thing and won't rule out the chances of it being his fault, at least not till Megan wakes up."

Smiling at his best friend, Robin nodded.

"Don't worry. All I'm asking is you don't forget that we can't make a real judgment till we have all the pieces. And I wasn't really expecting you to believe the 'ghost' theory at all," he said with a cheeky smile.

"Now, what is that smile supposed to mean?" demanded the speedster, feeling as if his friend were to be mocking him slightly.

"It means that you are an eternal skeptic, even when you DO believe in Magic." Chuckled the boy wonder, as he made his way to the infirmary's door, ready to leave and check back with Kaldur in Megan's room.

"HEY! I DON'T BELIEVE IN IT! I simply chose not to waste this brilliant mind in the search of every explanation on something that is so obviously false. You know, for the sake of focusing on more important stuff."

"Yeah, right." Said the young detective as he laughed a little more before moving out of the infirmary. It had been a nice respite from the perpetual gloom that had taken over Megan's room.

* * *

Ten hours.

Ten hours had gone by and Megan had not even moved an inch. Superboy grinded his teeth, his head was once again a blur of angry thoughts and self-hate. If only he could think of a way to make her wake up!... He was so anxious he could punch a hole in the wall just for the sake of punching something. He knew that none of this would actually help Megan, but he didn't know what else to do… he was beginning to think he might lose her… and that terrified him beyond belief.

At the moment, only Aqualad and Rocket were present in the room watching over him. A while ago the girls had all gone to change into their normal clothes, but only Rocket came back, because Artemis had to go call her mom and Zatanna needed to leave the room to relieve some stress; the heavy atmosphere was making her feel very depressed. The possibility of losing Megan brought back the memory of the pain of losing her father for Nabu's sake, so Artemis had told her to accompany her. Rocket would have stayed with them, but she didn't want Kaldur to stay alone with an irritated Conner for very long, afraid their leader might require some assistance in case he snapped.

When the girls said they were going to go change, Wally had offered to escort them, but then decided against it at the last minute because Robin had said he would go to Phantom's room to look at his condition. The reaction was immediate. Wally began ranting about how he shouldn't go, openly expressing his dislike to the boy wonder's idea, while the other teen's minus Conner, looked at him with concern. Aqualad asked him if he really needed to go, the leader would have gone with him, but he didn't want to leave Conner alone. Robin said he had to; he had a feeling that they were ignoring the whole picture. It was made clear that no one would change his mind; after all, Robin was the kind of guy that took a decision by himself and went along with it till the end. Aqualad resigned trying to convince him and told him to be careful. But Wally wouldn't let his friend go alone and soon, the room was empty except for Superboy and Aqualad till Rocket reappeared minutes later.

Through all this exchange, Conner barely paid any attention. He was solely concentrated on Megan's sleeping face. She looked so much like she was in peaceful dreams and that made his fears grow even stronger. Somewhere he had heard that dead people looked really peaceful… and his conflicted mind was using every ounce of information available to make things worse.

The poor boy was having a mental war. A great force in him wanted to stand up and go to infirmary to take his anger out on the battered boy, a voice that was coercing him by saying it was obviously Phantom's fault. But there was another force, softer, colder, that kept reminding him that Phantom didn't act aggressively at any time. That he was so tired, so hurt, so used… that reminded him that only hours ago he had believed he had found a kindred soul, someone that knew the terrible feeling of being treated as a specimen for someone else to use whenever they wished. But that voice was getting weaker, melting with every new negative thought that came to his head. It was making him go mad.

In this perpetual state of mental chaos he—suddenly— noticed new voices raising around him. It seemed the girls had come back, and so had Robin and Kid Flash.

"So, did you find something new?" asked their leader from behind him, obviously having moved to receive their friends.

"Not much really, but a few thoughts did come to mind." Revealed the boy wonder.

He didn't really care about what the younger teen had found out, so he tried to tune their conversation out once more, but before he could he heard Robin say he didn't really believe that Phantom was guilty of what was going on. And with that statement the delicate mental scale was tipped to the negative side. He saw red.

And so, he finally snapped.

Before anyone noticed what had happened, the bigger teen had taken a hold of the younger one's uniform and pushed him up against a wall. The surprised boy let out a yelp as the air was pushed out of his lungs.

"ARE YOU SAYING IT WAS MEGAN'S FAULT?" demanded the enraged Kryptonian. Everyone watched in stunned silence before Kaldur and KF tried to move to push the irritated teen away. But they stopped when they saw Robin held his left hand up signing them to stay away. He couldn't risk anyone getting hurt by Conner, especially because he knew that once his friend woke up from his angry trance he would really regret what he was doing. But Robin was also confused by Superboy's accusation, he had explicitly avoided saying anything about his believe on Megan's responsibility on the situation, he had simply said he didn't believe Phantom was at fault, but that was enough to set the other teen off. Conner must have been in a worse mental state than they had thought at first.

"WELL?!" growled Superboy in anger.

Struggling to push the huge fists slightly away from him so he could breathe better, the boy wonder tried to reason with him.

"S-supey, this isn't you, you're letting your anger t-take control… if you only try to relax…"

"RELAX?! HOW CAN I, WHEN MEGAN IS LIKE THAT BECAUSE OF PHANTOM?!" he yelled at Robin pushing him against the wall a little harder making him wince. The others tried to move once more to stop him, Zatanna raising her hands ready to chant a spell if the Kryptonian attempt to hurt the younger teen further, but Robin again motioned them to stop.

"C-conner! Listen to yourself… we are not like this! We don't make rash conclusions unless we have proof, else we could end up hurting an innocent," he said, his only answer was the shaking of the hands that hold him as his friend seethed at him. "Please, if you could only try to think clearly… Phantom is too hurt to actually damage her, he almost died, and we almost allowed it, dammit!" the last part he said between clenched teeth, he was still so angry and ashamed of himself for that, he was supposed to be better than that. And they were all supposed to know better than to reach a verdict without having held the trial first. "If he had died, Megan would have followed, don't you see?... Conner, if he really wanted… to hurt her… he wouldn't have protected her from his thoughts as she said he did. And he should have died the moment his heart stopped again. If his purpose was to kill her, then he shouldn't be here still!" the friends behind him watched entranced as they finally looked at things through another perspective.

"That's nonsense! No one would just die to take someone down on purpose!" he said, but his voice was much less aggressive this time.

"I know a lot of people that would for their masters. A-and I know a lot of people that, being manipulated, wouldn't have been able to stop themselves from doing it… one of them being R-red Arrow," he looked at the others behind Conner's shoulder and noticed their widening eyes, they were getting it. Finally!

"THAT'S DIFFERENT!"

"Why?! Cause you wouldn't have done it if you were programmed to?" He asked, getting a little exasperated by being held in such a powerless position by his own friend, who was at the moment being a hardheaded idiot. "If it was really his purpose to do this, then he shouldn't be alive. Why would any 'mastermind' keep a barely alive piece around? The only way it would make sense is if he didn't survive!"

The deep frown in Superboy's face began relaxing as he looked at the other teen.

"Supey, please… try to remember the few hours you interacted with the guy… tell me you don't wish to at least give him a chance…" As the teen's hold began relaxing, it was pretty clear Conner was beginning to recover awareness of his actions, and was slowly turning his anger into guilt. "We've been through a lot of stress… but we should have never allowed ourselves to make a biased verdict. And now it's time for us to be whelmed," he said as he gave him a small smile, telling him it was alright, that he didn't blame him. "And be helpful."

Conner was ashamed of himself. He couldn't believe he had been so close to actually punching his friend for simply stating his opinion… he really was lost without Megan…

"Sorry…" he mumbled.

"No worries," declared the boy wonder. "Now… can I be let down?" he said with his classic cheeky grin, at which everyone seemed to relax. Conner blushed slightly noticing he was still holding the younger teen against the wall, leaving him hanging. Mumbling another sorry, he was going to let him down when a soft light shined from behind him.

It happened really fast. There was a sudden buzz and a cold sensation spreading through their heads. The next thing they knew, Megan bolted up from her bed, cold sweat falling down her brow and mouth open in a silent scream as she panted, looking as if she had just woken from a nightmare.

Conner ran to her side letting Robin fall back to his feet. The boy wonder was so captivated by Megan's return he didn't mind at all that his uniform had been tugged so hard the neck line of his red shirt was little looser than it was meant to be or that there was a slight pain in his back. He would pay attention to that later, perhaps even do a few shenanigans to settle the score. But that would come much later, at the moment, just as every other worried friend, he run towards the startled girl.

Once Superboy reached her side he asked her if she was alright, slightly doubtful if it would be ok for him to hug her. The others came to stand around her bed.

Megan's eyes ran from side to side of the room looking confused and disoriented.

"Where…?" she began to say as her breath calmed down.

"Back in your room, in the cave," offered Kaldur, glad to see her eyes open once more.

The young martian nodded in acknowledgement as she looked down at her hands seemingly in deep thought.

"Megan?" Wally's voice cut through her musings. "What happened to you and Phantom?"

At the sound of that name, her eyes flew wide open and her lips moved slowly forming the word. Then once more out loud. "Phantom?" she blinked and then worry etched itself into her face. "Phantom!" she called before standing up in wobbly legs, trying to walk. Conner swiftly caught her before she fell and tried to pull her back to bed telling her that everything was alright and she should rest. "No! no, everything is not alright!" she said in despair making them confused.

"What do you mean?" asked Zatanna placing a hand on the struggling Martian's shoulder. Megan stopped for a second before soft tears fell down her cheeks.

"Phantom needs me! He needs my help! I shouldn't be here, not yet… But he didn't let me stay, he pushed me away… but if I don't go back soon…" her eyes widened again and she struggled against Conner's hold once more. "Please! I need to see him!"

"Wait a second… wasn't he the one that pulled your mind? Wouldn't it be best if you kept your distance?" asked a worried Rocket, upset with how things were turning out.

Megan turned to look at each of their faces and noticed the confusion they held. "NO, it's not his fault," she said afraid that any of them would blame the boy. "He tried to warn me not to get too close. I was the one that didn't listen. I allowed this to happen!" she didn't even notice their shocked expressions at her declaration, at least everyone but Robin's. "Please! Please I need to go!" Tears falling from her eyes. "Please! He is dying… if we don't hurry up, Phantom will die!"

At her statement, Robin pushed KF and Artemis aside to make his way to Megan, then taking a hold of Megan's shoulder he made her look at him.

"Megan, you need to calm down, you can't help anyone if you don't stay in control of your emotions." He said as she shivered slightly, but his words seemed to get through to her, for she stopped her hysterics and relaxed slightly. "Now, I want you to try and tell us all, what happened while you were unconscious, and then we will try to help Phantom, together." He said offering a confident smile.

She found some solace in his determination. He was right; she needed them now more than ever. Phantom needed them all.

A small smile begun forming on her mouth, but was soon erased by the sound of a new voice.

"No you won't," came the words from the entrance of the room, making everyone turn to look at Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter, both regarding the team carefully. The elder martian frowned deeply. "I'm sorry, but you are all banned from the infirmary. Now that M'gann's conscious, we can't risk any of you to get hurt. Please, try to understand."

The teens' could only look as the Manhunter walked to their group, moving out of the way as he got closer to his niece. "Now, I'm going to have to ask you to sleep for a little while M'gann, please, don't get hard feelings about this." And he placed his hands on her temples as everyone simply watched, making her fall instantly asleep. He laid her down on the bed as he asked the kryptonian boy to keep watch over her sleep. The leader moved closer to the senior hero, confusion written all over his face.

"How did you…" begun Kaldur.

"I had been searching for her mind constantly during the past hours, a few minutes ago I finally felt her back and came here immediately." Turning to look at the nervous teens, he frowned in sadness. "I hate to do this, but there's nothing you can really do to help that boy. And risking another connection with him is out of question."Standing up and walking to his waiting companion at the door, he simply said once more: "Please, try to understand." Before he left and the room was covered in new silence.

Only this time, the worry that came along with it wasn't only for Megan… but for the teen that they had misjudged and ignored for so many hours.

One thought within their minds:

"What kind of heroes are we?"

* * *

That was all! The longest chapter till now!

And somehow... I know the next one will be even longer...

And sorry about the quote, it won't happen always only when something nice comes to mind. It's just that I couldn't help the Sherlock Holmes reference, it was just so befitting to Robin's attitude in this chapter. Cause Robin was a lot like Sherlock and Wally acted more like Lestrade. Funny...

So remember people, don't make judgements before looking at all the data!

Well, till next week!

R&R


	9. Descend

Well, sorry for the delay, I had some work to do, but still

I hope everyone had a good Monday!

Now, let's move to the chapter…

Oh, yeah a little music suggestion! I wrote part of this **listening to "Dawn" by Poets of the fall**, really good song and fits especially in the middle part of this chapter.

Ok, let's begin!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Nine

Descend

* * *

The team didn't know what to do. Their renewed energies seemed to have been forcefully pushed down a cliff.

Aqualad, who was standing by the side of the room watching the younger heroes, couldn't help but feel a certain sense of disappointment. He had been really proud when Robin, against all the others' words, stood strong in his belief on Phantom's innocence, and had willingly taken charge of the group making them realize their mistakes and stirring them into the right path. The young teen had proved he had what was needed to be a good leader. At that moment, Kaldur accepted with great happiness that soon, the boy wonder would be ready enough for the Atlantean to relinquish the leader position to him. Unfortunately, just when the teen was going to help Megan explain things and formulate a plan of action, their seniors had appeared, and suddenly all their efforts were truncated.

He had never expected the elder heroes to take such measure to keep them away from the unconscious boy. Of course, he understood they were only being careful, and had their well beings in mind by doing this, but still, that the Manhunter had actually forced Megan's mind into sleep seemed a little too much in his opinion. But it was still a clever move. Megan was the only one that understood the situation to some extent, without her to explain or connect with the teen they had little to no options left. The overpowering feeling of another failure was lurking close to their minds once more, after all, they had been a little to sensible to them in the past few hours. Even his 'second in command' —Robin— held a growing helpless expression as he watched Megan's 'sleeping' figure, almost as if he hoped she would wake up and give them a clue on what to do.

The atlantean shook his head once. No, he had to think clearly, he had indulged in his own self-pity and neglected his responsibilities as a leader towards the team for too long. And if last time, Robin had come to their rescue; then this time it was his turn.

"We must not give up," he said with determination. The other members of his group turned to look at him, wondering what he was talking about, everyone except for Conner watching him with curiosity and confusion. Kaldur'ahm regarded his kryptonian friend for a second, the boy's hands held onto Megan's left with tenderness as his eyes remained closed in seemingly deep thought. Seeing her unconscious again so soon must be pretty hard for the young clone.

Straightening himself a little, he turned back to the ones giving him their attention.

"We've been acting recklessly, but we shall not continue that way. Megan has told at least enough to understand that Phantom is not an enemy. We can't allow the boy to suffer for any longer if we can help it."

Rocket, still a little disturbed by the whole thing, tried to hold into her leader's determinate words, but as she perceived the negative aura coming from her other friends she couldn't stop herself from doubting in the atlantean's speech.

"But… what can we do now? Without Megan…"

Zatanna leaned slightly towards her friend. The magician girl's emotions were in turmoil for the last hours of torturing wait.

"How can we help if we don't understand the situation? We still don't know what's really going on," she said with a slight inflection in her voice showing her upset demeanor.

Noticing the spell caster's particular distressed condition, Robin begun turning the problem around in his head, there must have been an angle he hadn't looked at yet!

"Maybe we should just wait and see what happens…" suggested Wally as he turned to Artemis looking for some support; she seemed to think along those lines too.

"No… there must be a way…" said the boy wonder, bringing a hand to his chin adopting a thinking pose. "Megan's warned us that we don't have much time. We can't simply wait… we must think of some wa—"

"How about keeping quiet?" said a whispery voice from the bed. Looking towards it, they saw Conner, still in the same position he had been for minutes. They were all confused to his sudden words, especially because they held no aggression; it wasn't an order, it was a petition.

"Supey… what is—"

"Shh," grumbled the kryptonian boy. "I'll explain later… just… stay quiet," his voice low and soft.

The teens looked at each other, lost as to how interpret the boy's request, and turned to Kaldur, looking for his decision.

The leader observed Conner for a few seconds more. The teen didn't seem mad or worried; he appeared to be… expecting something, perhaps? They didn't have a real plan of action, but Superboy's voice, though whispery had a thin layer of vehemence, like he was actually doing something of huge importance.

Sighing before crossing his arms, the atlantean took a decision.

Turning to the expecting team, he offered them a silent nod, indicating them that they should obey Conner's advice and keep quiet. Then he stared at Robin with an intense gaze, trying to convey to the boy wonder the message 'let's think about a plan while we wait'. The young teen nodded his head eagerly, having already understood the idea.

One minute…

Two…

"Supe—" started Wally, but was soon stopped.

"Shhh!"

Sighs of resignation.

Silence.

Five minutes…

Ten…

By then the teens were anxiously looking at each other. Kaldur and robin off in their little worlds trying to come up with a plan. Wally walking from side to side, as the girls followed him with their eyes, silently thinking that the boy appeared to have a sudden spurt of ADHD.

15 minutes.

Wally was going to drive them crazy! Artemis swore if the silly speedster kept walking around the room for another minute more, she was going to go get her bow and—

And then, suddenly, Conner let out a deep sigh of… was it relief?

"Ok. He's gone." He said with a small smile, as his hand gave a soft squeeze to the hand he was holding, and surprisingly, it answered back.

The group of friends, now alerted to this change, turned to see with surprise how Megan opened her eyes with ease and allowed her own sigh to leave her lips.

"It took longer than I hoped," she confessed with a sheepish smile to her boyfriend. The kryptonian shook his head and without another word gave her a tender hug, one he had been holding back for a long while now. She was startled for a few seconds before she happily complied, hugging him back.

"Then we are lucky I'm the one with the good ears around here, I guess," she could hear the smile in his words; the boy was positively beaming by seeing her ok.

"Wah?! Megan?! How are you even awake?!" demanded a bewildered Wally, his hands ruffling his hair in an agitated manner. Behind him, his friends sweat dropped, the boy was pushing a little too much on his dramatics.

The couple seemed to ignore him for a second as they gave each other one more squeeze before separating to take hold of each other's hands.

"Ok… what is going on?" asked Rocket, not really wanting to interrupt their little moment, but feeling the need for explanations burning in her head.

A small gasp left Robin's mouth as he had an epiphany, making him smile widely.

"She was never unconscious." He declared, trying to contain his amusement. "Of course!"

Megan looked at him with a smile before nodding at his deduction.

"I faked my unconscious state. It demanded a lot of concentration to mask my mind's waves properly… thankfully, Superboy understood the last message I send him before my uncle got close enough." She gave a grateful squeeze to his hand as he turned to look at the others with a proud smile on his face, making him seem livelier than he had in the past two days.

"She gave me a warning to listen closely. Then, when she was 'asleep' I noticed how her breathing and heartbeat were slightly irregular, not like it should have been had she been really 'asleep'."

"So basically, you faked your unconscious state, while Superboy spied on the Manhunter's presence with his ears till he couldn't hear him no more?" asked an impressed Kaldur.

The couple nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, basically," said Megan as her happy smile began to melt away. Conner's following swiftly. "While focusing in constructing the mirage of an unconscious mind, I couldn't really be aware of uncle J'onn's presence, so it was up to Conner to share this information with me… unfortunately, I didn't expect uncle to stay for so long." She turned to them with determined eyes. "We need to move, now. We've already taken too long."

The team blinked for a second before they understood her meaning.

"Phantom! Right!" exclaimed KF before receiving an elbow to his side courtesy of Artemis, who was really tired of hearing the speedster state the obvious so much lately. Wally only sent her an apologetic smile, rubbing his now sore ribs.

"Then we must move. Robin, can you verify our den mother's position?"

The boy wonder activated his wrist's computer and began typing a few things, hundreds of different codes run in front of his eyes till a map appeared on screen, two shinning points in it.

"Red Tornado is back in his private quarters, he seems to be working on that piece of Metal alloy we found in that truck. Black Canary is in the far north's training room, I don't have feed on her, but she probably is practicing her forms till the next time they have to look at Phantom's condition. No sign of other leaguers in the area."

Aqualad nodded. He was relieved they only had to deal with those two at the current moment.

"Can you see how much time we have till their next visit to the infirmary?"

The boy wonder typed some more.

"Ok… let me see, the last visit was only a few minutes ago, before Manhunter left. that gives us an approximated of forty-five to fifty minutes before one of the two go to take a look at Phantom once more."

"Do you think you can freeze the image of the infirmary's security camera so they don't notice us?" the younger teen nodded with a smile. "Excellent," said the leader turning to his team. "Then we have no time to waste. Let's move."

* * *

The eerily silence of the infirmary room was truly heartbreaking. And when Megan entered for the first time in over 10 hours, her heart cried at the sight of the unconscious boy. So alone, so damaged, so barely alive. A hand covered her mouth to stop herself from making any sounds, afraid that abruptly disturbing that perpetual silence could somehow break the spell that kept him alive. But that couldn't stop the tear from falling down her cheek.

"Phantom…" she mumbled after a few seconds, walking to his side slowly, hands trembling as they reached his peaceful looking expression, ignoring at the best of her ability all the cables that were attached to his body or the tube forced down his throat, and moving softly a dirty raven bang out of his face. The team watched from the door, mesmerized by the —almost— reverence in which the martian girl acted around the 'sleeping' teen. Every second more and more curious as to what had happened within the boy's mind.

"Megan…" said Conner, trying to ask what everyone wanted to know, but was stopped by her voice before he could continue.

"Everything was coming down…" she said, her soft voice getting everyone's attention. "Before… when I was back at the kitchen talking with Conner… he managed to contact me through the link… he gave me a 'thank you'," tears began falling down her face softly, each taking their time to fall as if trying to convey her sadness to the world. "I had never thought a 'thank you' could feel so much like a 'good bye'…" the observing teens could only remember their shameful reactions to the broken teen. Now hearing Megan's side of the story, they felt like huge bullies rushing into judgments. "I couldn't… I knew he didn't want me to… I just couldn't!" she took his left hand and brought it to her cheek as she trembled, the heartbeat in the background seemed to mock her with its weakness, as if reminding her he was going die regardless of what she did. A soft hand made her turn to look at her leader, his eyes held sympathy but also a silent message, warning her that if she wanted to help she couldn't let her emotions overwhelm her. She knew Robin had been right when he said it, and now, as Kaldur encouraged her to continue her story, she knew she couldn't allow them to take control.

"It was all coming down…" she said once more, cleaning her tears with one hand. "After the huge light enveloped me I-I wasn't able to see for a few seconds… but then, I couldn't belief the sight that welcomed me. Everything around was falling to pieces. The whole mental plane was collapsing faster than I could register it. Part of the surface collapsed on itself creating a huge dark hole. Pieces falling into oblivion as the ground under my feet cracked…" her eyes held a small trace of fear as she narrated this, making everyone draw a breath in suspense. "I thought I was going to fall… I was so scared; I came to regret my actions, thinking I was going to die there. And then, the ground disappeared from beneath me…" Her eyes closed as she held on tighter to the limp and scarred hand of the now raven haired boy. "But I never fell… before I could, a hand reached for mine, it held me in a strong grasp, and I could feel the despair slowly wash away from my mind…" A tear fell once more, but she bit her lower lip to contain herself, remembering it was not time to cry.

"I heard a voice," she confessed making them look at her in bewilderment. "And that voice screamed at me: 'I've got you! You'll be fine just, don't let go!', and everything turned black…" she turned to look at the relaxed face of the boy and fondly touched his grayish cheek. "When I woke up, I was in the most inner part of his mind. Somehow, he had managed to pack the last of his conscious energy to hold everything in place… so I didn't die with him…" She looked at them, at each of them in the eyes as she said the next part: "I was lost… I was an intruder, I was causing him more grief, but he still kept it all together to the best of his ability and even guided me to the weaker part of his mental guards so I could escape safely." A melancholic smile appeared on her face. "I didn't want to leave… The vacant feeling within that mind told me he had drifted deep into a coma-like state, and I knew that that would only hurt him more. That was when I thought, if I could wake up his inner consciousness, then perhaps he would get a chance to survive…" her eyes closed in frustration. "But he wouldn't let me. He didn't want me to risk ending with him… so the moment we reached an opening, he pushed me away… I couldn't fight him back, he was too determined and I was too weak to fight him by myself…"

After that, she remained in silence, and so did the other teenagers.

They didn't know what to say as she carefully caressed the boy's face. There were only two words that could describe a person that in such a broken state would care more for someone else's safety than their own and those were 'stubborn' and 'hero'. And they were all used to the feeling of having stubborn heroes sacrificing a lot of things for their sakes, be it health, wealth or whatever you may think of, it was a rooted notion within their minds, one that they loved and despised at the same time. Because they loved the mentors that did and gave their all for them, but despised themselves for being unable to protect them or being unable to stop them from going to such extends. They didn't need protection; they were ready to give it. And suddenly, this case had become a really personal matter.

"You said, if we could wake his consciousness he would have a better chance of surviving?" asked the atlantean, aware that if they were going to help they had to make up a plan and act on it as soon as possible. The answer, though, came from the boy wonder, who had been making his own deductions all this time.

"A person in a deep coma might drift so far into it that their brains no longer control completely their body functions, leaving them defenseless and weak. So… if we could push him into a higher level of awareness, that might help him get some control back and react better to treatment, right?" Megan nodded at her young friend's hypothesis.

"Yes. His body should by nature heal itself faster than normal, but being his consciousness so detached from it, it has caused the abilities to recede and is actually allowing small wounds —that otherwise shouldn't be dangerous—to destroy it. If we could only wake him up…"

"Wait, wait a second." Said Wally calling everyone's attention. "I don't understand, if he was unconscious almost since the beginning, then how did he guide you out?" He said with confusion, making the others realize that indeed he had a point. But Megan simply shook her head.

"Technically, it wasn't Phantom himself who guided me out… he was too weak to help me any more than he did by holding into me before I fell."

"Then who was it?" asked Zatanna, before Wally could question more about it.

"A memory." Answered the Martian girl with a weird smile on her face. "He seemed to have infused the closest non-painful-memory he had at hand with his will to help me out. So, that memory took upon the job of guiding me out."

"Is that even possible?" asked the speedster, completely bewildered by this turn in events. Come on! Ghosts, experiments on people, Megan walking into someone's dying mind for more than ten hours, and now memory guides? This was too much!

She could only offer him a sheepish smile, knowing it was difficult for him.

"In the time I was within his mind, I discovered that a lot of things that normally would seem impossible are actually quite real." She told him giving a small shrug.

"Oh… man…" whined the speedster.

"Sorry dude, it seems this case is going to push you beyond your concepts of believable," chuckled the boy wonder, making the other moan in exasperation.

"Ok," said Artemis stretching herself a little and pushing Wally out of the way to move towards Megan. "Leaving Mr. Skeptic aside, what can we actually do to help?"

"Yeah, how can we wake him up?" asked Rocket.

A steeled shine entered Megan's eyes as she straightened her back.

"I must enter his mind once more." She declared.

The team held their breath for a second, before they all comprehended that they couldn't convince her otherwise.

"Are you sure of this?" asked her Conner, still nervous and scared of her disappearing forever.

She turned to him, her eyes never losing their resolution.

"I'm afraid at the moment there is no much option. It's this or let him die." And the way her voice said the last part made it clear that that wasn't really an option.

"But… that could be really dangerous. What if another part of his mind brakes, what if he can't help you this time?" asked Zatanna.

"Then… what if she doesn't go alone?" said Robin. "Megan can easily serve as a bridge to connect some of our minds to Phantom's. Then, once inside, we could move as a small squad and protect each other from dangers. The way you describe it Megan, I take it that inside someone's mind we can perceive their world as if it was real, right?" she nodded, her eyes wide as she listened closely. "Then it's ideal. If we can keep close to each other, this'll be like any recon mission, there may be danger but we'll be safer with someone looking at our backs. Also, it's got another positive side. If one intrusion awoke a dying mind from its stupor, perhaps more could arise Phantom's conscious a few more levels. And if he tries to push us out like he did with Megan, we might be able to prevent it by opposing together."

The leader of the team looked like he was actually considering the idea carefully, but Megan soon called for them to listen to her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Phantom's mind is not a place you want to be in, believe me, you might regret it." She said lowering her head.

The group regarded her for a few more seconds till Artemis let out a loud sigh.

"Well," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess that decides it. You can't go to such a place alone again. So, where do I sign in?"

KF could only look at her in disbelief, his jaw hanging open.

"You're not talking seriously, right?"

She closed his mouth with a gentle pat to his face, and gave him a mischievous smile.

"Of course I am. Come on, we can't really let the guy die after all he just did only to keep Megan safe, right? What kind of heroes would that make us?" then she turned to the Martian once more. "So count me in to this little mind trip."

Megan simply blinked a few times, before shaking her head and breaking into a big smile, a truthful smile.

"Thank you," she said, glad that she wasn't going to be alone in _that_ place.

"Well," said Wally crossing his arms over his chest like a pouting child. "If she's going then I'm going too!"

"Wait!" called the boy wonder. "I think we should think carefully who goes and who stays."

Aqualad nodded in agreement.

"Robin is right. We can't all go. We must remember, we are not supposed to be here at the moment. If the league finds out that the camera is rigged and where we really are, they will come and endanger the mission's success. I belief we would benefit more with a small squad. A four man cell would be ideal."

Robin nodded before raising his right hand.

"I nominate Miss M, Artemis, Aqualad, and myself to delve into Phantom's mind, while KF, Zatanna, Rocket and Supey stay here to keep watch."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Wally.

"Why can't I go?" demanded Conner.

"Yeah dude, how come you leave us out?!" said the speedster, as Zatanna and Rocket looked at the boy wonder searching for an explanation.

The boy raised his hands in a peaceful sign, but it was Kaldur who answered them.

"It's about necessity. Kid Flash can easily keep track on the two seniors that are still in the cave and alert the people inside if they get close. Rocket and Zatanna, your powers will be great to camouflage the infirmary and repel anyone that tries to enter. And Conner's strength will be able to stop anyone that managed to get across." Robin sighed in relief at the answer Kaldur offered. It was one of the reasons he had suggested this team's structure, but there was another more important reason, and it was about control. At the moment, Wally could barely reign over his impulses because of the constant frustration the situation was causing him. Conner was edgy because of the danger that this could mean to Megan, and Zatanna was still slightly shaky from her bad memory. He could have easily switched Rocket with Artemis, but since the archer had already offered he decided to go for her. Rocket was going to be the stable connection. She still had a fairly good control over her emotions and that would help the remaining team to stay strong till they were back. Looking at Kaldur's eyes as he gave a look particularly in Rocket's direction, Robin knew that their leader was aware of how crucial her part was going to be. And if the firm nod she gave back was any indication, the girl was ready for the job.

"Then it's decided," said the atlantean before turning to Megan. "Tell us what to do."

* * *

Five minutes later.

The four teens that were about to enter Phantom's mind had been ordered to try and relax their minds before they could start.

"Now, everyone," said the young Martian, feeling they were ready. "Remember, you must leave your body in a comfortable position so it may not get hurt once your mind leaves it."

Her comrades did as she asked. Artemis sat leaning against the bed side, while Robin opted for a lotus position on the floor. Aqualad kneeled and relaxed with a straightened back. "Ok. Then we are ready…"

"Please, be safe." Said Zatanna from the door. The ones staying looking at the ones leaving with concern.

"Megan… wake him up and come back unharmed," said the kryptonian almost as if it was an order, but she knew it was more of begging request.

She offered each of their worried faces a smile and a reassuring nod. Then turned to her relaxed friends and placed her hands on her temples, letting out a deep breath.

"Let's begin," the other three nodded as each closed their eyes.

Megan's eyes closed for a few seconds before opening once more, both completely white, emitting a strong light.

Four teens looked at the mesmerizing light as it slowly decreased, leaving behind the bodies of their friends, all appearing to be 'sleeping' in the position they had been in, letting them know they had successfully left.

"I guess… I'll go make a small patrol…" said a nervous Wally, placing a communicator in Rocket's hands. "If I see anyone coming close, I'll call. Supey should probably keep alert for any sound in case somebody escapes my guard." The others agreed.

Turning to Zatanna, Rocket gave her a smile.

"Zatanna, do you have any illusions we could use?"

The spellcaster thought about it for a second, before chanting a small spell.

"This should make the doors of the infirmary rooms change places for anyone looking from the outside. It's not much, but should buy us some time."

"Good," said Rocket, turning to look at Conner, who took a sit on the floor in front of the bed, giving her a nod before closing his eyes and concentrated in his hearing abilities. She smiled gratefully for his patient demeanor. And with the other girl, they also sat down on the floor. Alert, but relaxed, they were in for a long wait.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed it!

Oh, and from here on, things will really get interesting, and chapters might tend to be longer. Thanks for reading!

See you next week!

R&R


	10. Where nightmares are born

And here is this week's chapter. Sorry for the delay.

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Nine

Where nightmares are born

* * *

"Unbelievable…" mumbled the Young teen as he finally became aware of his surroundings. The light that had enveloped all of his senses had left a few spots floating in his sight, but the mere concept was ridiculous, for he was supposedly within somebody's mind, he shouldn't have real eyes to be affected by the light's aftereffects. And yet, he was seeing those dark spots as he observed his new environment, completely amazed by it.

A gust of cold wind went by and his skin prickled with the small ice flakes that were moved by the air. It was incredible how real things felt. But it was also very unnerving. It was a powerful reminder that death in here might signify death in the real word; something to keep in mind as they moved forward.

Bringing his hand to rub at his still slightly blurry eyes, the boy wonder noticed for the first time that something was different about him. Looking down, he noticed his uniform had been replaced by his normal civil outfit: jeans, blue jacket and a black T-shirt. It all seemed the same except for one thing: in the front of his normally plain shirt he had printed in blue the winged symbol of "The flying Graysons". He almost gasped as the memory of his father's costume came to mind. His hand slowly traced over the pattern, wondering why it was there…

Feeling the cold air touch his now slightly moist eyes he went to rub them clear, trying to distract himself from the strong nostalgic feeling that was growing inside of him. But once his hand touched his face he became painfully aware of the fact that he had nothing covering his eyes. Why? He wondered…

"Uh… my head…"mumbled Artemis as she slowly recovered from her fall into this mental plane. Robin, hearing her getting up, became nervous at the idea of his friend seeing him with nothing to cover his light blue eyes. Of course, part of him was aware that it was foolish for him to be nervous of his friends looking at his face directly without any kind of 'mask', but Bruce had ingrained the concept of secret identity so deeply into his mind that he actually felt naked without his domino mask or at least his glasses when he was in front of others and not posing as Wayne's little ward. Begging he would find something to safe him from his predicament, he franticly searched his clothes and around every pocket, keeping an ear on the sound of steps growing closer to him. With each step he heard he grew more and more flustered till the point in which he would have laughed at his own silliness. _"Come on! I'm supposed to be always prepared!" _ He whined mentally as he continued his search, and fortunately for him, inside a hidden pocket in his jacket he found his old pair of sunglasses. Odd… he was sure he had already looked there…

Placing the glasses on, he sighed in relief and turned around to his friend, a bright smile on his face.

"Everything… is so white…" complained the girl as she rubbed her eyes. He took notice that the archer was still in the same civil clothing she had before entering, but this time, there was a leather strap hanging from her neck with two little pendants made of bone… or at least it appeared so. One was a small cat, the other the tip of an arrow. Artemis seemed to unconsciously reach to the pendants as her other hand tried to pacify the stinging sensation in her eyes.

"Yeah, I know," said the boy wonder turning back to admire the scenery. Ice and snow covered every inch of the land around them, while the sky over them was a huge blanket of grayish clouds. Winds blew creating small swirls of frozen air, dancing around the place. Surprisingly enough, they felt the cold but it didn't overwhelm them. It was more of a cool sensation rather than the Antarctic winter it appeared it would be at first sight.

"Are we really in his mind?" asked Artemis, as she tried to see as far as she could.

"Yes, and no," the voice coming from behind them made them turn to see Kaldur helping Megan up from where she had landed on the ground. The martian was wearing her battle outfit, cloak included, different from the civil clothes she had before entering, and the 'X' on her chest —normally red— had turned a stark white. On his part, the atlantean was in his normal hero outfit, but within his normally black tattoos where strange bluish symbols —that Robin recognized as atlantean letters— covering all the way up his arms.

"What do you mean Megan?" asked the leader, blinking slightly to clear his vision.

"We are in Phantom's outer mind. In the protective cover, a wall made to keep intruders at bay."

The teens' expressions turned bewildered as they looked at the vast expanse of icy earth. There were no visible beginnings or ends to this place.

"This… is a wall?" asked the boy wonder, dumbfounded by the idea as he tapped the floor with his left foot.

She nodded as she pulled the hood of her cloak down, hugging the soft material closer to her.

"At first, I used to believe this was his real mental plane, since this is where I've always come to after breaking through his conscious barriers. But last time, while everything came down around me, I noticed it wasn't the case. This is a second protective wall, one that Phantom himself is or rather was unaware of…" as she moved to the front of the group to take on the lead, she offered a piece of advice. "From now on, it's best we move carefully. We need to get to his inner mind's space, and for that we have to find a weakness in this barrier. Follow me."

The teens nodded to each other and silently began following the martian's guide.

So they walked and walked and walked, for a good while, the landscape never changing no matter how far they went, and nothing really helped them identify that they were moving at all. It was a frustrating sensation, and the silence made things a little more difficult… That's why Robin decided to break it by asking what he had been curious about for a while.

"Megan, I've been meaning to ask," said the boy wonder as his hand traced the symbol on his chest for the thousand time since they began following her.

"Yes?" she asked, never stopping once.

The boy gave a sheepish smile as he continued.

"Well, it's not really important, but why do we look different?"

It appears he wasn't the only one wishing to ask this, for the moment the question was out, each of the teens moved a hand to touch their 'differences' as if it was a subconscious reaction; which probably was, since they were basically mental representations of themselves.

Megan stopped for a second and turned around slowly to show she had a hand placed over the white 'x' on her chest as she contemplated it.

"The guiding memory… well… I was told that Phantom's mind hates lies with vehemence. He thinks lying is like cheating and you mustn't cheat… never unless it's for somebody else's good. Although, that still doesn't make it right…"

"Well… he surely seems to have his morals clear…" mumbled Artemis from behind.

"When you entered," continued the martian as if she hadn't heard her friend's comment. "His mind forced you to reveal a piece of who you are… perhaps a part you are not very comfortable with, something you would rather hide, but still an important piece. This reality is reflected through some kind of change in your appearance."

Suddenly, this differences made a lot more of sense in their heads.

Robin knew his marking was showing who he really was inside. He wasn't a Wayne and he wasn't completely a Robin, he was a Grayson, and deep within his heart, that part of him was still there, waiting for his chance to fly with his own wings.

Artemis saw in her collar the duality of her origins. The cat reminded her of her life with her sister and the training their father was placing them on, while the arrow's point about her new life as a heroine. It represented all the good that had happened since she joined the team, her friends, her new extended family… Wally…

Aqualad looked at the names written in his native language around his arms, his former family, his former friends… his former love… All the people that had made Atlantis feel like home and constantly made him homesick, even if the feeling had decreased with time.

Megan observed the white color of her mark. She hated how someone else had the power to influence her into showing such a private secret, but on his defense, Phantom didn't actually wish to know, things just worked like that in his head.

"Does that means that he now knows about our… 'secrets'?" asked Artemis, making them all flinch slightly. That was one unpleasant thought. Fortunately, Megan denied it quickly.

"No, he doesn't understand these changes at all. He just knows why they are, not what they mean."

"I don't get it… why make us change then?" asked the boy wonder.

"Well… when he explained it to me he said something like: 'before letting the enemy enter your home you make him take off his weapons… even if you don't know how he will use them'." She had a sheepish smile as she said this.

"Enemy?" asked the confused Atlantean. "He… he considers us enemies?"

"Wha—? No! no… no I… well… if we get to see the memory that guided me around… you'll probably understand… Phantom can be a little intense in a few things… and at the moment… perhaps more than a little unstable… The main idea though, is he wasn't really happy I was there." As a small blush appeared on her cheeks as she turned once more and started walking once more.

The others looked at each other questioning silently what she was going on about, but ended up shrugging in resignation. After all, she might explain herself better later.

* * *

In the Watch Tower

The martian looked forlornly at the show of lights that shone in space as he sighed once more.

"I really hope Megan doesn't get mad at me," he said to himself.

"J'onn," called a voice from behind him, making him turn almost startled to see Superman coming his way.

"Superman, is there something you require?" he asked trying to mask his upset demeanor.

Unfortunately for him, the Kryptonian's ears worked well enough to catch his silent comment about Megan.

"What are you doing here, I thought you would be on earth watching over this… um… what was it? A 'guest' the kids got in the cave?"

The martian couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. He found it amusing how Batman would sometimes leave details out from the explanations he gave to Superman when he thought the man of steel would make an unnecessary scandal over things.

"Yes, I was there. But the boy's condition is quickly deteriorating. I'm afraid that he is going to die soon."

Superman could only frown; it was always a tragedy when a young life is lost. Worst was that he barely had any knowledge of the situation since he had been helping Green lantern get rid of a few meteorites that were getting slightly too close to earth's orbit. All he got from Batman was that the team had found a prisoner in their last mission and that the boy had been damaged beyond repair. He was aware his friend was holding information, because, in Batman's own words: "You allow emotions to cloud your judgment way too quickly sometimes." And sadly, the kryptonian hero knew his friend was right, he just wished he could help more with this case. But, perhaps he could at least help his friend.

"Losing a life is always hard J'onn, but I doubt that that is the only reason you seem so upset."

Looking at the genuine concerned expression on his burly friend, the Manhunter smiled softly at the comforting feeling of having someone in whom he could confide.

"You are right," he said as he looked back at the stars. "It's about Megan…"

"What happened to her?" asked the Kryptonian leaning on the railing close to him.

"It's just… she was so determined to help that boy she was borderline reckless. I couldn't risk her doing something imprudent… I didn't want to risk her well being… so… I forced her to fall into a deep slumber," explained the martian as he looked at his hands, with something akin to disgust in his expression. "I shouldn't have done that… I intruded on her mind in a moment in which she was really distressed, she probably hates me…"

The Martian felt a big hand being placed over his shoulder and turned to see his friend's understanding expression.

"J'onn, you shouldn't blame yourself so much about this. Look, if Robin or Kid were to do something reckless I'm sure that Batman and Flash would run all the way around the world to stop them, IF they were aware of their actions that is," he added, cause he knew those kids got away with almost anything because they acted behind their backs. "Megan is a very kind girl, I'm sure she'll forgive you after you explain your reasons." He said, making the martian feel slightly better. "You know, you should go back to the cave. It'll be easier if you are there when she wakes up."

The Manhunter looked slightly reluctant for a second.

"But… I'm supposed to take on guard duty at the tower after Flash."

Superman simply waved it off, and offered a smile.

"Don't worry about that J'onn, I'll cover for you. This is more important, you should be there."

Seeing his friend had no doubt on his words, the martian finally nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Superman."

"You're welcome, J'onn." He said as the Manhunter began walking away toward the portal that would take him to Megan's side.

* * *

Back in the mental landscape…

"Megan… how long are we going to walk? We must have been hours in here already!" exclaimed the young archer, nervous by the feeling of time passing them by, wondering if the league had found them out.

"I doubt we've been in here even 10 minutes in the real world," said the martian as she continued her pace, looking at the clouded sky, feeling the uncertainty that came by not being able to tell the pass of time accurately.

"Are you sure? It feels like longer than that," commented the boy wonder as he tried to clean a little of the frost that had formed around his glasses' edges.

"Phantom's mind is in a coma situation. Time is irrelevant in here, since his mind has detached a lot from his body. Last time I was here, it felt like it took me days to leave," the others' eyes widened and Robin seemed to choke on air as he held onto his glasses so they didn't fall. Aqualad seemed to be wishing to tell her something but she raised a hand to stop him. "I know the concept of time seems relevant, but right now, within this mind, one second can extend to infinity, yet another can signify alls end. We may have to walk for what seems like hours, but each step must be taken as if we only had seconds…" her voice began decreasing as she gave a few more steps before suddenly coming to a halt.

"Megan?" asked Artemis.

"We are here," said the girl as she kneeled to touch the frozen ground. A small gasp escaped her as she stood up once more. "This point is a lot weaker than it should be… we really must hurry."

"Ok…" said the boy wonder getting closer, still confused on how they could 'hurry' without actual 'time'. "So what do we do now?"

"I'll phase us through the barrier and get into the inner layer." As the teens came closer to take each others' hands she gave them a warning. "Once inside, things can get pretty dangerous, please, don't separate yourselves from the others, and remember that anything you see is not truly real," the worry in her expression made them slightly uneasy as they connected hands.

A tingling sensation run over their bodies as Megan slowly made them phase through the cold barrier. And for a moment, they closed their eyes as the barrier passed them through, only opening them again once they felt their feet touch the ground. The atmosphere that surround them there was completely different from the one above.

A glacial cave. Walls covered in ice creating passages that extended far ahead and gave way to bifurcations giving the impression of a maze like structure. The soft hue of blue that darkened in the deepest parks but seemed to lighten around them should have made them feel relaxed, and they would have, had that been all there was to see.

"What the—" mumbled a stunned Artemis as they all observed their surroundings with wide eyes, everyone except for the young Martian who simply regarded the scene in front of her with a forlorn sense of pity.

The bluish walls gave ways to metal doors every few meters, each one marked with scratches that reminded them of a beast's claws. Darkness seemed to pour from every corner creating misshaped figures that lurked all around them. But the worse was the strange puddles of green glowing liquid mixed with dark crimson. Stains of the substance fell down from the walls, from the doors and over the otherwise clean icy floor; it left hand prints every now and then. Sometimes, those marks were awfully distorted and stretched, as if someone had dragged a bleeding corpse all over the floor. The air was packed with a musty smell that was eerily similar to that of fresh blood.

Robin's trembling hand touched one of the stains getting his bare fingers dirty with the sickening mix of toxic green and dark red.

"I-Is this… blood?" he asked, more than a little unnerved by the heavy feeling settling itself on his chest.

"It…well…it's a representation… but, yeah, it is blood," the martian's answer made the boy recoil and —disgusted— try to clean his digits against the icy rock of the wall. He was used to blood, painfully used, but this was making him feel so deeply upset, the atmosphere in this place was too heavy, oppressively trying to grasp on each one of them.

Trying to distract herself from her friends conversation about the 'blood' that covered the place and the small bout of nausea that came by the strong smell, Artemis looked anywhere in the tunnel that wasn't covered by the stains. It was because of this that her eyes fell upon one of the metal doors, one that seemed barely scratched and didn't have any weird liquids on it. Her eyes then fixed on the door's handle and almost in trance, the archer walked to it.

"What are these doors anyway?" she said in almost a whisper, but it was loud enough for Megan to turn to look at her in time to see her friend take a hold on the grey handle.

"ARTEMIS, NO!"

The martian girl tried to reach her friend but her scream took the archer by surprise making her turn around and accidently pull at the door's handle.

Everyone held their breaths for a few seconds as a loud clicking sound filled the room. They all watched in silence, waiting for something to happen. But once a minute went by with nothing, Megan let out a sigh of relief.

"OH… false alarm, everything is fine…" she said with a nervous smile. The other heroes looked at her carefully, unsure of what just happened.

"Megan… what the hell was that about?" exclaimed the slightly terrified archer, her hand now held against her chest as if the door had burned her after Megan screamed.

Looking at each of their expressions, the green faced girl sighed in resignation.

"I'm sorry… I really should have explained things better since the beginning. It's just that I still don't understand everything completely… But now I see that before we take any more steps around this place we must be on par with what we know." As she talked she signed them to come closer. "Ok… let me see if I can explain this. So… we are in Phantom's inner mind's layer. Over us you can see the protective wall we had been standing on," the three teens looked up to see a sturdy ice wall serving as the cave's ceiling. "This place is kind of a maze… not really sure why, but Phantom made it that way." The girl then pointed to one of the doors. "And those are repressed memories. Within each of these doors a memory is held captive. One per door." Looking at the long passage and all the doors that were visible in it they could only imagine how many doors there was in total. "But…" their attention turned back to the girl once they heard the nervous note in her voice. "Most of them are not good memories."

The teens looked nervously at the metal doors.

"Memories of what… exactly?" asked Aqualad, knowing where it was going but wishing he was wrong.

"Well… there was a long series of events before Phantom got to us for him to be in the state he is in…" there was no need to specify anymore.

Torture.

Experiments.

In other words… pain.

"I guess that also explains the bleeding walls." Said the boy wonder with a grimace.

"Yes, it does," Megan turned to Artemis with a serious frown. "These memories are very powerful, and Phantom must have been really disturbed by them. So he placed them behind these doors. But only some of them were successfully locked. Like the one you almost opened by accident." Artemis gulped loudly at the intense expression in her martian friend. "You were lucky, extremely lucky. But you might not be next time." The warning was clear in her voice, making the archer take a step backwards.

"Megan… what happens if we open a door?" asked the leader, startled by the harshness of the normally gentle girl.

The Martian only closed her eyes, her brows twitching as she remained still for a few seconds. Robin noticed her hands clenching a few times as she breathed in deeply. Then, she spoke with a soft voice.

"The memory will swallow you. You will be taken into its world… and… it's not going to be pretty…" the girl visibly shuddered before turning away from her friends. "That is why you mustn't touch any door in here."

The leader eyed warily each of the doors before placing a hand on Megan's shoulder.

"IF we don't open them, will we be safe from those memories?" he asked, somehow knowing there was more to it.

The girl silently shook her head, making her team realize things were worse than they had hoped.

"Memories are really difficult to repress, especially if they are bad. The worse they are, the more difficult it becomes to keep each door closed. Like flashbacks into nightmares, some of this doors will open at will, and if you are too close to them when that happens, you will be taken by them." At her words the three teens moved closer to the center of the hall, looking around them anxiously. Who would have thought that the doors could actually attack them, they were like mice surrounded by traps.

"So… we don't touch the doors and we don't get close to them. Alright… it seems pretty easy."Joked Artemis trying to break the ominous sensation that hang over their heads.

"Yeah…" chuckled the boy wonder. "And even if we got swallowed… well, we just have to find our way out, right?"

Megan turned to him with a grim expression, making him stop talking. "You won't be able to leave the memory till it's over. Believe me; you won't even be able to understand you are meant to leave it."

Kaldur looked at the teens interact and decided that the mission was going to be more difficult than he hoped, but they had to pull themselves together, there was not much time —in the real world at least— to go around fearfully. Taking a deep breath he relaxed his tightened muscles, marveling at how naturally his mind's body seemed to react to his anxiousness.

"It's a risk that we'll have to take," said the older with steel determination breaking the tense mood once more. "We came here to safe Phantom and we are going to do just that. We've taken missions with great risks before but we never back out. So let's move, we'll be extremely careful and try to respect the rules Megan has given us, but we must begin the search for Phantom's consciousness before it's too late."

Seeing the strength in the eyes of the atlantean warrior, the other three teens were reassured that they were going to fulfill their mission successfully. Megan allowed herself to smile, it was so much better to have her friends with her this time around.

"Ok, let's move." She said, once more determinated to continue.

* * *

"I can't tolerate that smell…" groaned Artemis after having walked for a long while. The smell of blood —that weird metallic smell— was causing her a headache.

By her side Robin allowed himself to chuckle slightly. He knew it was an annoying smell but after a few… hours perhaps? His nose seemed to have become immune to it, making him pity his dear friend. Looking to the side he noticed that Aqualad's brow was twitching once in a while, probably because his aquatic sense of smell was a little more acute than a human's and he was —more than likely— really bothered by now.

"I'm afraid that it can't be helped at the moment… the smell is part of a memory that Phantom wasn't really able to imprison, just like the blood," the martian's voice held sadness as she told them that.

Seeing that the moral of the group was in peril, Robin decided to take a different tangent on the conversation, one that was brought to mind by the two colored blood that surrounded them.

"Megan, did you ever found out why Phantom changed forms?" the question seemed to spike the interest of the other heroes, successfully braking their concentration in the disgusting smell.

"Oh… I didn't explain that either?" the girl smiled sheepishly to herself as she tapped her forehead with he hand. "Hello Megan… of course I didn't," her voice soft as she laughed to herself and her forgetful attitude towards her friends. "And here I was talking about being in a common ground… ok, let's see…"

The girl continued to walk as she looked at them by turning slightly.

"Well, this was perhaps the most interesting and weird thing I learned about him while I was here. You see, Phantom isn't a 'Meta' as in a Human with special powers… he's more like a 'hybrid'."

Captivated by the comment the atlantean nodded at her. "The mix of two kinds?"

"Yes," she said nodding back at him. "I don't know how that happened… but he somehow is."

"How that 'happened'? You mean he wasn't born like that?" asked a perplexed Robin.

"Wait, but that means you would have to fuse two beings or modify half of a living creature till the point it becomes something else. That's not possible without killing the subject!" she turned to the boy wonder and tapped his shoulder. "Is it?"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Well… you can mutate someone's DNA structure till some point… like with cobra venom… but to actually make someone a hybrid? That… well, it would kill a person."

Megan offered a comprehensive smile.

"Yes, changing the essence of someone that far would kill them. But what if the purpose is to change that new half into something that is, supposedly, already 'dead'?"

They had to stop at that suggestion. They all refused to move for a second, before Robin —in a mixture of excitement and healthy skepticism— said: "You are talking about the ghost thing, aren't you?"

The girl nodded with a bright smile.

"Are you trying to say Phantom is a living creature that is half a dead one?" asked a startled Aqualad.

"A half… ghost?" said Artemis, tasting the sound of it but immediately finding the concept to sound terribly wrong.

The martian girl sighed, remembering when she was told that no one would actually believe her if she said it out loud. She had to smile a little; Phantom was terribly right on that one.

"As I said, I'm not really sure how that works either. All I know is that Phantom is the hybrid of a human boy and a ghost. Half of him became a ghost without dying… or something like that…" she had to muse over it; after all, the guides born from the memory didn't really know how to explain it to her either.

"Wow," said the boy wonder readjusting his glasses, before chuckling cheekily. "Gee, it's really good Wally isn't here, or he would have been running around having a huge tantrum."

Artemis had to laugh at the picture, yes, Wally would have. Even Kaldur had to hold his laugh.

Megan laughed internally, before looking once more at the wall that served as a ceiling to the passages.

"There is something else he did tell me," the others stopped their actions to look at her as soon as she said that. "It's about the protective wall…"

"What about it?" asked the archer.

"Well, it was—" yet before she could say anything more, the cave's walls began to shake. Soon the ground followed almost as if there was an earthquake going on. "Oh, no! this side is collapsing, we have to get out!" exclaimed the girl trying to keep her balance, but failing miserably.

"Megan!" called the atlantean pushing her out of the way as a piece of the huge icy wall fell down, almost squashing them both.

"This way, hurry!" called the boy wonder as he looked at the one passage that didn't have pieces of ceiling falling. Artemis went to help the two other heroes up and then run with them after Robin. The three teens run for their lives as part after part of the mental plane crashed around them, doors breaking as the ice hit them, the awful sound of screams and cries filled the air, although they were unintelligible.

They didn't know how far they run, but they had turned at least five times to the right in the maze before things began to calm down.

Finally able to catch their breaths, the team of four crashed on the snow covered ground, gasping loudly.

"Well… (pant)that (pant) was interesting (pant)" said Robin with a tired smile. It wasn't that they had run that much; it was that they had run without a real direction, with no way to know if the next corner would hold something worse than the last, and that took a toll of your mental strength.

"Interesting?! You really need to have therapy, did you know that?" asked Artemis, not finding the 'running blindly for our lives' situation in the least 'amusing'.

"Hehe, yeah, sorry," apologized the boy, receiving a small grunt in response. But looking up slightly he noticed something moving all the way up over his friend. "Artemis! Watch out!" he screamed, making the archer notice a piece of debris falling towards her. In a desperate attempt to escape her doom she jumped away from where she was hitting the wall as the huge ice rock smashed the place she had been in.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but when the girl tried to stand up, she felt something poke her in the back and move up with her.

"Artemis!"

The voices of her friends calling to her desperately and a loud click were the last things she heard before everything around her turned black.

* * *

Light…

There was a huge source of light that made her eyes sting.

Everything but the light seemed to be covered in darkness… like she was in the middle of it. Her head was pounding, feeling the beginning of a migraine. Her sight was blurry, as if she had woken forcefully from a deep slumber.

She wanted to groan, but found something covering her mouth. How weird, what was that?

And, where was she again? What was she doing before waking up?

Oh, the headache was growing so hard now, she wanted to rub her temple so bad to try and ease the pain, even if only a little. But when she tried it she found something holding her arm back. Opening her eyes immediately when she noticed she couldn't move she turned to her hands and saw strangely glowing metal cuffs that hold her in place against a metal slab. She knew it was metal because a cold sensation that was biting at her bare back.

Wait! What?!

Fearfully looking down from the vertical position she was being held in, she saw that someone had taken her shirt off. Fortunately, they hadn't taken her lower garments, but this sight made her begun struggling against her bindings. What was going on!?

Suddenly, the sound of voices reached her ears. She raised her eyes and searched around of her to notice for the first time that she was surrounded by seven people, four dressed in white lab coats and others in strangely pristine suits.

Why… why were they looking so… so… curiously at her?

Why was no one helping her?

Why was she even strapped? She didn't want to hurt them… or were they the enemy?

A woman got closer to her as her partner followed with a clipboard in hand. She was saying something, but all she could hear was a babbling sound, like in those old cartoons when they made the adults sound like they spoke gibberish. But as she spoke she pointed at the girl, making her squirm at the closeness of her finger to her chest. The woman didn't even look at her as she spoke to the others in the room, all the ones in coats moved to crowd around the girl like she was some sort of animal in a zoo.

Somehow, Artemis knew this was wrong. A feeling in her gut told her things would get worse pretty fast from here on. And those feelings were confirmed when the woman took out syringe, a bright red liquid glowing within it. A huge smile lit up her blank face.

Slowly, the woman brought the syringe close to the still struggling girl.

"No, please don't!" screamed the girl at the metal gag covering her mouth, but no sound escaped it, and somehow, she already knew no sound would. In desperation as the needle grew closer to her skin the girl pulled at her restrains, so hard and so strong that her wrists began to bleed from the pulled skin, causing her to hiss silently. It was then she knew there was no way to avoid it, and her body slumped in resignation, after all, this was always like that…

Artemis' eyes suddenly widened a little at the thought. Were they always like that? When? This was the first time an enemy got to trap her like this… wasn't it?

But she was woken from her musing by the small pricking sensation on her forearm. Turning she saw with horror as the smiling woman pressed that strange liquid into her system, before pulling the syringe away, no consideration at all.

She could only look at the single drop of blood that fell down her arm from where she was shot; wondering if that was all, somehow thinking that it was never so simple. And that thought was right…

Suddenly, her body arched against the metal slab, a horrible feeling spreading like fire, literal fire, through her veins. Each one of her muscles contracted in agony as it spread all the way to her heart, were things became overwhelming.

"Please! Please stop! It burns! I'm burning!" she screamed within her thoughts for she knew no one would hear her. Forcing one of her clenching eyes to open slightly she saw the group of people commenting between each other, smiles covering their faces as they spoke excitedly, taking notes, taking time. "WHY? Why are you doing this to me!?" she thought, as her heartbeat grew painfully loud, resounding in her ears making her think they were going to explode.

It hurt, it hurt so badly. Suddenly tears began falling from her eyes, she couldn't stop them anymore? She was so confused. And when she managed to open her eyes, she saw things tainted in red. She almost screamed. Her eyes… were they shedding tears, or were they bleeding?

"**Hey, arrow girl, wake up!"**

"Make it stop… make it stop… please…"Her sight became blurry and slowly, she felt small black spots cover her sight, a fresh sensation filling the back of her head. The last things she saw before everything turned black again was the smiling face of the people in white stained in the red that covered her eyes. And suddenly she hated them like she had never hated anyone in her life.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"**You're going to be fine. Just listen to Megan."**

* * *

Slowly, things begun to come back to her. First the cool sensation of the frozen floor washing the memory of the fire away, then the gentle arm that held her close giving her the sensation of safety, and finally the sounds filled her silence with coherent words.

"…eed to wake up."

"Artemis, let go …, it wasn't …ur memory, don't let it … control"

Blurry images danced in front of her eyes till she finally was able to distinguish three figures surrounding her. Blinking hard she tried to make her world go back into focus.

"She's awake," mumbled a gentle voice, a boy's voice.

"Thank goodness." Said a girl.

"Artemis, are you alright?" asked a male voice coming from above her. Turning her head to look at the person that had spoken, her sight was filled with red. Reacting in fear she bolted up and recoiled from this person's hands, gasping as she tried to make sense of everything around her.

The three friends looked at her alarmed by her trembling condition. The poor archer was almost hyperventilating (if that was even possible with a mental body). Her hands shook as they rubbed on her hair trying to bring some clearness into her foggy mind, constantly repeating as if it was a mantra: 'it burns'.

"Artemis?" asked the boy wonder, consternated by the way the archer was acting, she was acting like a victim from traumatic event only seconds after it happened. What had she even seen!? They had only seen her disappear in the light before reappearing unconscious by the now closed door.

With saddened eyes, the martian girl moved slowly to her terrified friend, stopping for a few seconds each time the girl flinched.

"Whatever it is you've seen Artemis, it was not you who was in pain," said Megan as she slowly reached to take the other girl's hand. "Think clearly, were things really the way you saw them? I'm sure if you try you'll see they were not like you think they were."

The archer looked up to the green face of her friend, looking deep into the martian's eyes. The weird voice she heard before came back to her mind:** "You're going to be fine. Just listen to Megan."**

And desperate for some sort of control over her emotions, she tried to do just that. She listened and concentrated and suddenly part of the memory she had came back to her, but this time it was different.

Her chest was completely bare, but it wasn't her chest… it was a male's chest… and it was covered in scars…

She noticed part of the light she thought she saw was coming from… her hair? There was hair in her face… white hair? Wait… no, she didn't have white hair… her hair was blond, not even that light…

That wasn't her body.

And the blood that covered her eyes… it was not red… it was green! Yes, it was green, it wasn't her blood! Hers was red, not green.

"My blood is red… not green," mumbled the scared girl, slowly disentangling her hand from her hair. "My hair is blond… not white…" she said as realization slowly fit in, and her eyes widened in understanding as she looked at her friend's sympathetic expression. "That memory wasn't mine… it was his…"

The martian nodded patiently as she slowly patted the girls head. The archer could only let a few tears flow as she mumble "his" a few times before flinging herself towards her friend, holding onto her with despair as she allowed herself to cry in silence. The other two teens looked at the scene, lost as to what was going on.

"I-it burned M-megan… it h-hurt so much… why… w-why wasn't anyone stopping it…" she said between sobs trying as hard as she could to control her raging emotions. But it wasn't easy, it didn't even seem possible, it was just SO UNFAIR! It HURT it really did! What kind of monster does that to another human being?! Regardless of how much of a hybrid they could be, Phantom was still a human being!

The martian simply rocked her friend, slightly regretting having brought her friends with her, she knew the memories were dangerous, and if Artemis had been too deep inside them she might have never been able to notice the differences between her and Phantom, making her belief it was her that had been tortured and possibly traumatizing her for life. But Megan had gone through a couple of these memories by herself already, and she truly hadn't wanted to be alone in here anymore, so she selfishly had allowed them to come.

"It's going to be alright, as long as you know it wasn't you, it's going to be alright," and that statement was so wrong and yet so right. How wrong it was of her to say it would be alright when Phantom did go through that, when they barely even scratched onto a memory, when the boy this mind belonged to had gone through each of these forsaken doors in real life? She almost felt disgusted by saying it would be alright… but for Artemis' sake, she did.

It would be minutes later that Artemis finally was able to pull herself together enough to let go of Megan, and it was in that moment that the martian girl explained to the others: if a memory swallowed you, you would live through the experience from Phantom's point of.

Things were now truly terrifying.

* * *

In the Bat cave…

The dark knight sighed in frustration as his eyes scanned the pictures of hundreds and hundreds of teenagers parading on the screen of his main computer. After he left Phantom's side he had wished to start his research, unfortunately, a few troubles arose and he had to go to the tower to help Flash with some mixed up data about a few strange movements in some laboratories around the states. But, since he came back, he had been looking at the missing children data base of the last five years to see if he could find a match with Phantom, and so far, there had been no luck. A lot of black haired and blue eyed boys had passed by, fewer white haired and green eyed ones came up, but neither was the one he searched for.

He was pretty sure he had seen the boy in one of his missing lists… was it another country's list? No, he doubt that, for some reason the boy didn't strike him as a foreigner… so… where?

The computer made a blipping sound announcing the end of the research, and its result. Batman could only frown at the huge letters reading 'no match found'.

What was he overlooking? What was getting past him?

And suddenly, one word came into mind. Ghost.

The vigilante wanted to smack himself in the head for not having thought of it before, slightly impressed as to how much this was affecting him to actually have allowed something so obvious to pass him by.

He had been looking through a missing child data base when he was looking for a 'dead' teenager.

Changing the search to another folder, he ran the scan once more, and this time, it only took the computer about ten minutes before coming up with one result. A match in facial structure and basic description. The picture came up with the profile on the side and looking at the kid's face Bruce felt the pleasing sensation of success.

**Name: Daniel James Fenton**

**Age: 16**

**Appearance:**

** Caucasian / black hair / blue eyes / thin built / Height: 5'6´´ **

**Declared missing in: 11 of November 2010**

**Last place he was seen in: Central Park, Amity Park **

**Last people to see him: Samantha Manson, Tucker Foley**

**Declared dead: 11 of January 2011**

The teen in the picture was —without a doubt— the one he was looking for. The boy was looking at the camera with a nervous smile, as if he were uncomfortable of being there, overall he looked like your average nervous and slightly nerdy teenager, but those eyes, those bright blue eyes told a different story. The boy held himself in a silent but proud manner that mostly no one would notice, and his eyes were alert, ready for anything… what could this Daniel have been up to before taking that photo?

The dark knight leaned back on his chair and took a deep breath. His first emotional response after having finding the boy's identity was to call on the emergency number and inform the parents that their child was found, after all, they must have been looking for their son for almost three months before sadly having made the declaration of death… but… would it make them any good to find out that their son was dying? They had probably come to terms with his death in the past three months, telling them that he is alive only to tell them they will lose him again would be incredibly cruel.

But that wasn't the only thing bothering him. There was also the fact that the kid had been experimented on, and apparently had strange powers. Telling someone could lead the kidnappers back to their prey, and that wouldn't be wise. They still had to find out who did this to the boy. And there was the fact that Daniel was declared dead only three months after his disappearance. Normally, there was a period of six months before the data was changed from 'Missing' to 'Dead'. Unless there had been any reasons that would prove the kid was death… but what could have happened…

The last place he was seen in was the small city of Amity Park. And the boy had weird powers… and he said he was a ghost…

A ghost…

A boy…

A… ghost-boy?

The Batman could only groan as he finally —and reluctantly— allowed himself to accept this possibility. He had been trying to avoid digging up that particular skeleton from the graveyard of closed cases, but he, apparently, was left with no options. Sighing dejectedly, and leaving all his skepticism aside, he opened an old file in which he began the search for a few particular headlines of small tabloids that dated all over two years ago.

* * *

Back in the mental plane…

A couple of hours —were they even hours?— of walking found the group of four heroes going around another corner of that maze. Not knowing where they were going was getting old fast and did not help with the nervous atmosphere that seemed to follow them. After Artemis' experience, they had decided to shield her by making her walk in the middle of the group. The archer had felt a little embarrassed at first, but her fear of the doors was enough to let them do as they pleased. The shadows on each corner seemed to mock her for her weakness as they spread and retracted themselves into their distorted figures. The girl allowed another shiver to run down her spine.

"Artemis… are you alright?" asked the boy wonder, feeling slightly guilty of not being able to help his friend the last time and allowing her to hit that door.

The archer faked to rub her arms slightly. "Yeah, it's simply… that it's a little cold in here," she said trying to cover up her nervousness. But Robin saw right through it. The place wasn't really cold, it was just slightly cool, and there was the fact that suddenly, Artemis seemed to have forgotten all about the smell she had been so annoyed about, meaning the girl was constantly thinking of something else, something more overpowering to her mind than the smell. Artemis was scared.

"Yeah… it's really cold…" said the boy wonder, allowing her to continue her pretense if it was what she needed at the moment.

Both teens failed to notice the subtle gazes that the other two in front of them send in their way.

"Megan, do you know how far we are from the 'center'?" asked the leader, clearly worried about how the longer they stayed in there would affect them.

"I'm afraid I don't… this place is very confusing, and energies fluctuate all around the maze, changing constantly, I try to follow the center but it changes position to quickly… if only we could get a guide…" she said, mumbling the last part to herself.

"What about the memory that guided you before?"

"I'm not sure if they are still around… if the memory became too weak they might have already disappeared," she said as she sighed in frustration.

The leader frowned slightly at her words.

"They? Wasn't it one guide?" he asked confused.

The girl shook her head.

"It was one memory. But that memory created two guides."

"Wha—?"

Before Kaldur could continue his question, they all heard a rustling sound coming from one of the walls. Turning around they saw a door shaking strongly, as if it was trying to burst open. The heroes moved out of the way as fast as they could, but Artemis, still scared by the last door, could only stay in her place, frozen as she looked at the particularly nasty looking door as many scratches appeared in the front steel.

"ARTEMIS!" screamed the boy wonder, but the girl did not react, so taking action, he run to her at full speed, telling himself he would not allow it 'Not this time!'.

"ARTEMIS, ROBIN!" called Megan as everything happened in a matter of seconds.

The boy wonder pushed the dazed archer out of the way, but in that instant the door was flung open, allowing a huge ray of light to fill the place and engulf the figure of the young teenage boy, before everything disappeared.

* * *

His senses… were all muddled…

He couldn't feel… he couldn't see… he couldn't hear…

Everything was so eerily silent…

And for some reason, he was so glad it was that way…

The silence pacified him, made him feel safe… but it didn't last long…

It began with a simple sound, it was the sound of his own respiration and the young teen wondered why it sounded so… wrong…

Why was he breathing so… weirdly?

But he didn't mind, not much at least, he was in the middle of darkness and only in darkness could he sleep… why?... why could he not remember why?

Out of nowhere he felt a strange heaviness settle into his chest. Something heavy was resting on it… there was a pressure there… a bothering pressure… and a tugging sensation…

What was going on?

Was it his imagination? Perhaps he slept with his hand over his own chest… or something fell over him?... no… no it wasn't that…

Light.

There was a small spec of light appearing in front of him… his eyes were opening? Weren't they already open?

Everything was so blurry and bright…

There was a source of light shinning over him and it was making his eyes water. He tried to blink the blurriness away, but he was so freaking tired… he just wanted to sleep once more… but…

But the pressure in his chest was growing, growing so fast it was slowly becoming painful.

The boy wanted to rub his chest to mitigate the pain but found his hands wouldn't budge… perhaps because he was so tired… and he really didn't want to move…

A shadow passed over his line of sight…

His eyes focused —or tried to— on that shadow.

A person…? It was a person? No… there were two hovering above him… white clothed … with masks on their faces…

Hospital clothes…

Was he in the hospital? Oh man! ### would get so mad when ### found out he was in the hospital…

The boy wonder stopped for a second there. Who would get so mad when they found out he was on the hospital? And why would he be in the hospital… and what was that stinging feeling on his chest?

There were voices around him but he couldn't understand them at all.

Damn! Why was everything so freaking bright?!

His head lulled from side to side, trying to understand what was going on, till he finally moved his eyes towards his chest, trying to search for what was so wrong in there. It was difficult, cause something seemed to be covering his face, but after a few tries he was able to see it.

And at first all he saw was the 'doctor' touching him. He was moving his hands over his chest searching for something… perhaps that which was wrong?

But the pain intensified, it grew harder and stronger… and suddenly it was becoming too much. In a painful bout of agony, the boy's eyes finally cleared, and it all made some morbid kind of sense.

T-the… the hands…

The… the person's hands…

They weren't touching his chest…

They were IN his chest!

The hands were inside his chest, and blood, HIS BLOOD was coming out of a huge gapping whole in it.

He felt he couldn't' breath… he felt himself begin hyperventilating… he was so… so scared…

FOR GOD'S SAKE, SOMEBODY HAD HIS FREAKING HANDS INSIDE HIS CHEST!

He wanted to scream, he wanted to move, he wanted something, someone, anyone. _Please take his hands of my chest!_

_Oh god, are those my ribs?_

_What is going on?_

_What is this person touching?!_

_Oh, it feels so wrong!_

_Hurts, hurts, HURTS!_

_STOPSOPTOPSTOPIT!_

_STOP IT! PLEASE! _

_DON'T TOUCH ME!_

**Enough!**

PLEASEPLESPLAESPLEPLEASE

**Hey, wake up bird boy.**

_Don't touch that, please don't touch that… _

**Relax, you've got to listen, this is not YOU in pain.**

It Hurts so much… it hurts…please make it stop…

**Ok, just answer this, what color is your blood?**

W-w-wha… awha?

**What color, focus here bird boy, I don't have all day!**

_B-blo…blood… blood… r-red…_

**Are you sure? Look again, but this time, truly observe things.**

Confused and utterly terrified, Robin opened his closed eyes to look once more at the scene that he knew would bring his end, only to notice the blood oozing from his wounds was not red.

_Green…_

**Time to wake up, dude.**

* * *

There was a loud sound, a gasping sound, and everything was once again blurred up.

It took the boy wonder a few seconds to notice that it was his own breathing that he was hearing as his sight slowly cleared up. As his body moved slightly he felt hands over him and pushed against them away in terror, not noticing that by doing so he had punched Aqualad's chest. The atlantean could only watch startled as his normally calmed friend clutched furiously at his chest.

"T-they…they…" the teen couldn't even form a complete sentence as his lips trembled with every word forcing him to stop. His hands were now clawing strongly at his shirt and it was clear that if he continued, the boy would only hurt himself.

"Robin! Robin, you've got to pull yourself together," said Aqualad trying to wake his friend from his panic induced frenzy.

But the boy wonder couldn't even listen to him or to the voice of the martian that had joined Aqualad in trying to calm him down. With widen eyes, Robin pulled at his messed up shirt, ignoring even the fact that somewhere in his struggle he had lost his glasses, exposing his blue eyes. But nothing could matter to him more than proving this. Looking at the pale skin of his chest, the boy begun touching and feeling each muscle, each rib, in an obsessive way, looking at the reddening skin in morbid fascination as it became rawer by his frantic ministrations.

"ROBIN!" screamed Megan, worried he would actually draw 'blood', because this might not have been his real body, but a wound here would be interpreted as real, too much damage would leave mentally unstable.

But it was Artemis that got him to react.

"STOP IT!" yelled the girl as she swiftly slapped him in the face. The harsh sound of the skin making contact against skin finally snapped the boy from his neurotic trance. Moving his head up, Robin was finally able to see his friends and they got to see his eyes clearly, and they couldn't help but be taken aback by what they saw. It was the first time, even in Kaldur's memory, since meeting him, that they had seen Robin cry. Thin rivulets of tears streamed down his cheeks. Whatever he saw in that memory, it must have been really horrible to move Batman's ward into tears.

Artemis felt slightly guilty for having slapped her friend, but mostly, she was grateful that the boy's act had saved her from having to life through the nightmare Robin did. It was selfish, but she knew that after the memory she had to live through already, another one so soon would have probably killed any trace of sanity she had.

"M-my… my chest… it's complete…" mumbled the boy with a soft but relieved voice, apparently completely oblivious of the tears that were silently falling down his face. "I-I'm fine."

"Of course you are fine. Suggesting otherwise would be preposterous!" said a voice from behind the group of friends, making them turn around with startled expressions.

"Dude, like… we told you. That was not your pain."

Aqualad, Artemis, and even Robin —in his distraught condition— couldn't help but stop and stare at the two figures that looked at them with a curiosity and annoyance. In the awkward silence you could have heard a pin falling had there been a pin to fall in this huge maze of a mind.

"Phantom?" asked a confused Kaldur. "And… Phantom?"

Twin groans came from the two teens standing only about three doors away from them.

"No dude, you're making a mistake." moaned the boy with black hair, clearly ticked by the hero's mistake.

"I am Phantom," said the white haired teen.

"And I am Fenton!" declared his counterpart.

And then, with twin glares of blue and green eyes, they added:

"**And you are trespassing on our head!"**

And just when they thought things couldn't get more confusing than they already were.

* * *

R&R


	11. A deal with the wicked minded

Hey everybody! Sorry for the delay again, hope you had a nice Monday xD

Now, before we start I have an important **announcement** to make. Due to the lack of time I've been having to write lately, I've decided to change the update rate to one chapter every two weeks. This is mainly because chapters are getting longer and taking more time to be written, so I need more time to revise them and things like that. So… according to this, next chapter will be up for Monday 25th (yes, still on Mondays).

Well, that was all. Let's begin!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Eleven

A deal with the wicked minded

* * *

"Phantom and who?" asked the startled atlantean as he observed the two annoyed figures, and no one could blame him from openly staring at them.

The two teenagers could have passed as twins. They shared facial structure and body built, But differed mostly in clothing and color scheme.

One of them had stark white hair and green eyes, and was dressed in a black jumpsuit with white boots, belt, gloves and collar; and in the center of his chest the boy had a strange drawing that made the heroes reminiscence of some of their seniors' logos, only his was a white stylized D with what looked like a small P inside. Overall, he looked like a healthier—and completely dressed— version of the teen they had met in the real world before 'the change'.

His counterpart on the other hand, didn't look to be in such a good condition. The black haired teen was leaning most of his weight on his doppelganger's shoulder as the white haired one supported him in a strong hold. The boy was pale and looked as if he had been in the middle of a battle, one that had somehow damaged his right leg, since he was trying to avoid placing any weight on it, his blue eyes wincing slightly when he moved. This teen was wearing your average civil clothes: a pair of faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a red neckline, and a green plaid shirt that was left unbuttoned, covering part of the view of his t-shirt. The clothes were stained in some places with what looked like blood and the boy seemed to be sweating a little while he glared at Kaldur for his question. This one looked like a healthier version of Phantom after 'the change'.

"Uh! Fenton, like with F-E-N…TON? You know like… well… like… like Fenton!" growled the black haired boy as he waved his left hand around trying to get his point across.

Kaldur couldn't help but feeling slightly bad for having made the clearly tired teen feel insulted by his confusion.

"My apologies. I didn't… hear well…" it was still weird though, he couldn't really get who Fenton was. The boy simply huffed in annoyance.

"Phantom and Fenton?" asked the dumfounded archer from the leader's right side.

"Uh, yeah?" answered the boy with the particular inflection that lazy teenagers would use when communicating. Or at least that's what Robin thought, because he used it sometimes to bother Alfred back at the mansion.

"Megan?" asked the boy wonder turning to his Martian friend, by now his tears had stopped and left dried tear trails on his cheeks. Still, he wasn't even aware that he had been crying in the first place, he was THAT confused at the time.

The green faced girl simply offered her still staring friends a small sheepish smile.

"Um… well… seems we found our guides," she said while rubbing the back of her neck. Her answer simply made their bewilderment grow stronger.

"THOSE are the guides?!" questioned Artemis in disbelief.

The sound of someone clearing his throat made the girl turn to look at the one that had called himself 'Phantom'.

"Those? Correct me if I'm wrong human, but I do belief we've already told you our proper names, it's only common courtesy if you call us by them. I shall not tolerate to be called anything other than that!" declared the teen as he gesticulated dramatically, accidently jostling his counterpart in the process.

"DUDE!" growled the other boy as he pointed to his wounded form. "LIKE, OooUCH!"

"Oh… Sorry, Fenton."

"Yeah… you better, dude…" whined the hurting teen.

"Hey… Megan… did that Phantom-guy just called me 'human'?" asked Artemis while the 'guides' were distracted with each other.

"Yeah… he did," said the embarrassed martian.

"Why would he do that?" she asked again, their two male companions shared Artemis' confusion.

"Well, I'm sure you can guess it if you look at them for a little while." The four turned to the bickering pair with curious eyes. Phantom was currently advising Fenton about something related to emphasis in his actions… and Fenton was just growling that all he wanted was a few hours of rest and a bowl of… did he said nachos? "Ok, perhaps at the moment they look too different to actually notice. But the thing is they represent each part of the real Phantom's psyche: the human and the ghost side."

Looking at the two of them again and noticing the glowing green light that was coming softly from Phantom's eyes and the red blood staining Fenton's clothes, they all nodded. Yep, definitely a human and a supernatural creature, no doubt.

"Ok… so we have two halves of one whole… are they really the ones that helped you out last time?"Asked Artemis, looking at the two teenagers still bickering by the side of a closed door. Somehow their topic had changed to the fact that one of them stole the other's hat and the other took his counterpart's… cape? Ok… officially too weird for her to even care.

"Yeah… they were actually very useful last time. But…" she turned to look at them with concern. "Last time I saw them they looked a lot younger, like around Robin's age… and Fenton wasn't in such a bad shape…"

It was at the mention of one of their names that the two guides finally shut up. They took on somber expressions as they avoided looking at the girl that had spoken lastly. Phantom's eyes roamed the team while Fenton's just lowered them to the floor, as if his old red shoes where really the most interesting thing in the world.

Suddenly, the glowing pair of green irises found their way to Robin's still disheveled looking figure. The boy wonder had to flinch at the intensity of the ghost's gaze. Why would he look at him like that?

Phantom tapped his counterpart on the shoulder and then pointed to the other black haired/ blue eyed teen in the cave. Fenton followed the indication and soon his eyes were fixed as intensely as Phantom's on the nervous looking teen.

"W-wha—?"

"Stop it." Ordered Phantom cutting Robin's question in the middle, his green eyes shining in warning.

"Wha-?"

"The rubbing thing, he wants you to stop it, dude," said Fenton as he pointed to the other teen's chest. It was then that Robin finally noticed that his hand had been —unconsciously— rubbing at his chest in soothing circles; _strange_ he thought, _I didn't even feel that._

"When…?"

"Since the 'you are trespassing' part," declared the human guide.

"You need to stop it. If you don't, the memory will take a hold on your subconscious and you'll become its host and be tortured by nightmares that will bleed into reality," explained the ghost boy, his voice resounding ominously with the natural echo that seemed to come from it.

"What?" asked Robin, troubled by his warning.

"You'll go nuts, dude," explained the other half, eyes half lidded in a bored expression. "As in… completely and utterly coo-coo," he even made the classic 'crazy sign' with his index by the side of his head to make it clear.

Looking at how serious they were at the moment, Robin couldn't help but shiver slightly at the prospect of going crazy over a simple motion. With surprising difficulty and reluctance, he forced his hand away from his chest. That memory… what he saw had definitely screwed him a lot in the head.

"It was a particularly bad memory, of that I'm sure," the boy wonder raised his head to see that the two guides had gotten closer to their small group that was still huddled on the middle of the passage. "That of being open up while you slept."

The teen cringed back as he felt everyone's' stare fall over him. His friends were obviously worried about this not so subtle description of what he went throu— of what PHANTOM went through! AH! His mind was playing tricks on him. He wasn't even planning on telling them what happened to hi—Phantom, to Phantom. With narrowed eyes as he tried to recover his bearings as he asked the two guides:

"How?"

"Oh, come on, dude! We are like, part of this whole thing!" said the human boy closing his eyes before moving his green shirt a little to allow the boy wonder to see the middle of his white T-shirt clearly. There was a huge red stain on the middle of it and small spots all over the clavicle area. "Besides, we're not just the 'guides' like Meg's said. We also act like your escape goats. So when you reacted to being cut… well… I kinda got the wound…" the boy grimaced as he pocked at the bleeding mark and muttered. "Dude, am I glad I'm only a figment of my imagination… this could seriously get infected if I were all real…"

Aqualad could only watch the boy with confusion for he seemed to take this thing on a stride. He also noticed Phantom's face showed a deeply rooted concern for his doppelganger as the teen messed around with his dirty shirt. Fenton seemed to have forgotten the world around him and was completely focused on his new wound with childish curiosity. Kaldur didn't miss the protective way in which Phantom seemed pull his other half closer to his body, as if he wished to hide him from the world… and perhaps, even from his team.

"So… every time a door opens…?" asked the atlantean trying to break the weird mood.

The ghost turned to look at him, eyes shining brightly in contrast with the half-light that seemed to cover the whole maze, giving a fleeting glance to his companion —who was currently looking at his chest through the collar of his t-shirt and making disgusted noises— before turning back to the leader with a sigh.

"No, only every time someone gets trapped in them. The original me made us to carry the emotional and traumatic load that comes from the memories in order to protect the 'intruder's'," at this part he send a sharp glare at the nervous martian by kaldur's side. "mental integrity. Of course, we can't help the phantom feeling that is left on you after going through that, but at least we can avoid you from getting 'physically' hurt. After all, your lives are all at stake here, when you enter a door you could easily get damaged in those mental bodies of yours." His eyes then fell on his still distracted twin, and he frowned slightly. "Unfortunately, since the original is in his human form, Fenton is the one that receives most of the damage in your stead."

The black haired boy raised his head at the mention of his name and laughed a little.

"The way you say it, dude, you make it sound like we are almost like extra lives for this guys… you know, like in a video game?... that's so totally sweet man…" The group of teens watched Fenton's reaction thinking he was a little too at ease with the idea of being an escape goat. "Oh, by the way dude… like… how many ribs does a person have? Cause so far, I've only seen three…" The team flinched back at the comment; perhaps Fenton was a little more than just at ease… he was probably slightly crazy as well.

The ghost half sighed in resignation, seemingly used to his counterpart's antics. Simply ignoring the human teen when he went back to looking at his chest, Phantom turned to the boy wonder once more.

"In any case, you human boy, are perhaps the most unlucky lucky person to have entered a door so far."

Robin lowered his sight for an instance and picked up his glasses before placing them on. He didn't like the feeling of Phantom's green eyes seeing directly at his blue ones, he almost felt as if he was being chastised.

"Why?" he asked, unable to think of how someone could be even slightly lucky of having gone through _that. _

Phantom balanced his human half towards the wall delicately, making the surprised boy yelp and send a pretty nasty scowl his way, but that was understandable since the movement must have really hurt a lot. Once his hands were free, the ghost took a thinking pose, ignoring the growls that came from the boy leaning on frozen rock.

"Well, from what we have found so far, you got one of the worst memories. So, you are unlucky. But, from all the worst memories, you got the best one. So you are lucky," the teen explained as he moved a hand for emphasis, his voice making funny inflections every few words.

It was then that Robin, for the first time, noticed he was actually listening to Phantom talk. The boy that was mute in the real world was talking to him, right here, right now… and he couldn't help but wonder if the original Phantom talked this way too.

"You are talking," it was a stupidly obvious statement, but Robin had to say it. Unfortunately, his comment was awarded with twin curious stares directed at his blue eyes, and even though he had covered them with glasses, he still felt as if he was only a little kid and an adult was making judgment of his attitude. Robin hated that feeling! And yet… couldn't help but apologize… why was he being so docile now? "I'm sorry… I… I wasn't really paying attention…"

"Well, duh." Said Fenton, pushing against the wall to try and straighten himself up a little now that his twin had left him to fend for himself. "With a nightmare like that, who wouldn't? I mean, this wound is no joke, dude," his comment made Robin wonder if under that t-shirt there really was a wound like the one he had seen in a memory… but he doubted it. If Fenton had a wound like that, it would bleed profusely and his insides would be at risk of falling out of place, as disgusting as that mental picture may be. "Hey! Bird boy, don't think too deeply into it. I'm not real, remember?" And how the hell was he even able to know what he was thinking? "Dude, it's like written all over your face." No, it was not. "Yes, yes it is." No. "Yes." No. "Yes." No. "Yes." No. "Yes."…

"Enough!" called Phantom before turning to his damaged half. "Fenton, we don't have all day, so stop fighting with that human like a little child!" the black haired boy answered his ghost counterpart by blowing him a raspberry. Ignoring the immature reaction, the ghost turned to Robin and added. "And you, I hate to tell you this, but inside our head we make the rules, and if we say you are easy to read, then you are, understood?"

The other teenagers watched as Robin nodded back at the ghost, not even completely sure what had just happened between him and Fenton, but finding it amusing that Phantom had reprimanded the two boys. Artemis looked at Robin's slightly flushed face and was glad he had gotten over his mental breakdown so fast. Unaware of it, her right hand began rubbing at the point on her arm in which she was given the shot in the memory she saw. But this all stopped when she felt someone looking at her, gazing up she met a bright pair of shinning green eyes focused solely on her and couldn't stop herself from gulping out loud. Why was he even looking at her for?

"Hey, Mr. I'm-a-responsible-and-mature-guy, didn't you say we had things to do? Stop staring at the archer chick, and get on with it!" Hearing the voice of his counterpart, Phantom turned slightly to look at him before nodding.

"Right," the white haired teen then turned to look at the martian, making her nervous once more, as he crossed his arms over his chest, with that look an annoyed parent would give to their child when they've done something bad. "Megan, care to explain why you are here again?" he said before pointing at the rest of her team. "And why did you bring them along?"

And before the martian got a single word out, Fenton beat her to it.

"Yeah. Didn't we like, I don't know… told you not to come back again before sending you out?"

Megan looked at them for a second, a little worried with how serious they were when looking at her, knowing that it was never good sign from her last experience; but she also knew this was the moment that would decide the rest of their stay in there, she had to make the guides help them or they were all doomed, cause —admittedly— she had no idea of how to navigate this intricate maze, and even if the two teens weren't really aware of all the details, they were in sync with the environment because they were part of it.

"Phantom, Fenton, we need your help. Can you guide us to the center of your mind?" she asked, directly to the point, no beating around the bushes, they had to move forward.

The two guides looked at her, then looked at each other, and then at her again, and finally, they simply shrugged. Megan wanted to smack them in the heads for such a strange answer.

"Was that a yes, or a no?" she demanded, a little flustered by their antics.

"**Whether that was a yes or a no, depends completely on why you want to know,"** answered the two at the same time, their voices following each other, blending in one.

Megan felt herself tremble, there was a strange kind of power when those two talked at the same time… when their voices united it was like all signs of Fenton and Phantom disappeared and a single new voice was created… she somehow believed that was how the real Phantom would sound if he was able to speak.

She tried to retort, but before she said anything a hand took a comforting hold on her shoulder easing her nervousness. Turning a little she saw Kaldur looking at her, her other two friends by his side, sharing with her their determination.

"We have come here on our own will, not by Megan's doing. And our purpose is to try and help the real Phantom to wake up from the deep coma he's fallen in," explained the atlantean warrior with steeled resolve.

"You entered, to try to wake us up?" asked the human guide.

All the members of the team nodded.

The guides blinked at them a few times, before closing their eyes and sighing deeply.

"**Then the answer is no. We can't take you where you want to go,"** they both said, making the temperature around the passage lower a few degrees, causing the four heroes to shiver slightly.

The teens were startled by their denied request and the sudden change in temperature.

"What?" asked the bewildered archer. "You are the guides here! You can't say you can't!"

But either guide wasn't perturbed by her outburst, they simply crossed their arms over their chests and looked at them in silence.

"Unless," said the boy wonder, reading into their imperturbable demeanor. "Unless you are saying you won't," he saw the guides blink at him. "you can, you just won't."

Phantom sighed as he ran a hand through his white locks.

"What you are asking from us will be going against the will the original infused Fenton and me when he created us to serve as guides. We are meant to help the intruder out, not take any mortals deeper into this trap."

"But—" Megan was cut once again by Fenton, who threw her a tired glare.

"Meg… you do understand how much effort it took the real me for you to get out of here safe, right?" and for once, the boy seemed as tired as his body looked.

"Each second you spend in this timeless void you gamble with your lives. If the original dies while you are still here, you will all go down with him. And it doesn't matter if we are or not still here, we won't be able to help you if that happens," the ghost boy begged them to understand as he looked into their eyes.

"You all dying with me… now that is like the worst possible last memory one could take to the grave, you know?" commented Fenton in a nonchalantly way.

"But…"

"But what, Megan? What could you possibly do to help us in the condition we already are?" Asked Phantom as he shrugged his shoulders tiredly.

Megan found herself trembling a little, feeling feeble against the guides' demands, not knowing what she should say… what she could do…

"We will wake you up!" said a cheery voice from her side. Everybody turned to look at the grinning boy wonder, smile that looked slightly weird with the tear tracks still present on his face, but that wasn't less cheerful because of them. "That's the plan, isn't it? Megan said that in the center of your mind there is a representation of your subconscious sleeping deep into the coma. So, we just have to wake that dude up, then you'll get a fighting chance!"

Phantom looked slightly taken aback by the cheerful attitude of Robin and was baffled at the proposition, his body moving closer to his other half. All the while, Fenton simply leaned against the wall, cautiously inspecting the boy wonder.

"Fizzling Phantoms! Are you out of your mind?" asked the startled ghost. "Of course you are, you must have gone through a lot more trauma than you appear if you think it'll be as easy as walking into that place and just shaking the original awake!"

"Well, we won't know unless we try it. Perhaps we could scream in his ear or something," said Artemis, feeling Robin's cheerfulness infecting her, it was so great that the boy could overcome his traumatic experience so fast! She felt motivated.

There was a soft chuckle from the wall were Fenton was leaning. The human boy forced himself away from his support and limping badly, he moved closer to the group of friends. The instance he separated from the wall, Phantom moved to stand by his side, shadowing his every move ready to catch his human half if he fell. The team members could only marvel at the devotion the ghost had for his human partner.

"Scream? Nah, sorry. Tried it, didn't work, so I went back to waiting for death to come. But thanks for the feeling… is nice knowing someone actually wishes to help us for once."

"You tried?" asked the perplexed atlantean.

The two guides shared a glance before the raven haired teen nodded slowly.

"Not really us, you know? We kinda were stuck being Meg's guides for a while… It was a few other memories that escaped imprisonment… it's just natural instinct —or something like that—for the mind to try and save itself, so they went to the original all 'wakey-wakey' like but he didn't even listen to a single one of them. And you know why?"

The teens shook their heads slowly.

"Because the original doesn't want to wake up. Real Phantom is all like 'let's wait for death', so we all decided, well, what the hell, let's wait. After that, every single memory but us got trapped in those freaking doors." The boy chuckled a little at the weird expressions that the team was giving him. "See, even if you get to go to the center and stand a few meters from the original's form, there is nothing you can actually say or do to wake him up, so you better let that idea go now, while you still can."

Kaldur had to clench his teeth at this… he was used to saving people, but people normally wanted to be saved, Phantom seemed to have come to terms with his own demise, making them be the ones making things more difficult for him. Now it made more sense why Megan said they were and weren't viewed as enemies here. Even his memories were willing to let him die… how were they supposed to help someone that didn't wish to be helped?

"You are lying…"

The leader turned to look at Megan, whose lower lip was trembling as her eyes stared intensely at the two guides.

"Am I?" asked Phantom, looking at her with the same strength, Kaldur took notice on how he seemed to use his own body to shield the other boy by standing slightly in front of him.

"Yes, you both are." The two boys couldn't help but sharing another glance before raising one eyebrow each… now, looking at them so much in sync, the atlantean could see that they were obviously part of one single whole.

"What would make you say that, Meg?"

The girl took a deep breath to calm down her shivering down and —renovated with the positive energy her friends were pulling— she faced the two of them.

"Cause if Phantom really wanted to die, he would have ended everything the moment I left his mind." The two guides straightened a little at her declaration. "There is no need to 'wait for death', if he allows the barrier to fall completely there will be no turning back. The fact you actually have to 'wait' is clear proof that, till some point, you are still fighting to survive."

Noticing the slightly uncomfortable reaction in the guides, Kaldur felt his confidence renewed. His friend was right; Phantom had to be trying at least in a small part.

"Are you declaring that you understand the situation better than we do?" said Phantom, his eyes shining with a toxic green light, the aura around him flaring, causing soft vapor to rise around him. But the girl wasn't deterred by his display of power.

"I'm just stating a fact. If you are still here then it means part of you is still trying to survive. Besides, the first time we saw each other both of you told me you didn't understand the situation that well either."

A soft chuckle from the side made the ghost turn to his counterpart, who tried to hide his smile —and was failing miserably at it— as he laughed, holding his side in pain.

"Dude… haha… ouch… she totally got you there," the ghost's anger seemed to fade away as he looked with his other half with childish annoyance. "But you know, Meg?" said the black haired teen turning to look at her. "That small part you are talking about is simply natural instinct, not conscious reaction. And even if it's still there it doesn't change the fact that nothing you do will be able to wake us up. The original is too far gone and has no real reason to live anymore. So what could you do to help us, huh?" he said, spreading his arms and somehow keeping himself balanced, a taunting smirk on his face.

"I… I…" Megan took a deep breath before looking at the boy completely, she could feel her friends backing her with their strength, she wasn't going to back down now. "I'm not really sure what, but I'm sure that once there we'll be able to come up with something. All we ask is for a chance to try!"

Phantom moved slightly, his eyes recovering that menacing light that made the heroes' bodies prepare for a possible attack, but it never happened, for he was stopped after his counterpart extended an arm, silently asking him to back away. "Fenton?"

With a bigger smirk, the human boy turned to Megan and her friends.

"Ain't that interesting?... soooo you think you can wake me up?" turning slightly to his companion he added. "Say Phantom, do we give her a chance?" the ghost looked at his human half with clear confusion on his face before simply shrugging. "Ok! We'll make a deal Meg."

"A-a deal?" asked the startled girl.

"Yeah. We'll take you guys to the center of our mind and let you try to wake the original up." Then his eyes narrowed dangerously. "And _when_ you fail," he made it clear that it was not a supposition, it was a fact. "you'll allow us to take you out, no complains, no second chances, admit defeat and leave. Got it?"

"Fenton, are you sure about this?" asked the obviously concerned white haired teen.

"It's ideal, don't ya think? Cause dude, If we try to reason with Meg and her little buddies we'll end up discussing for liiike… a long while 'bout who is right and who isn't… but if we take them there, they'll see for themselves and leave. See, ideal, no wasted time, not as much energy. I can do my homework too you know?" The ghost half simply sighed and nodded in return, making the other teenagers wonder who was really in charge here, Fenton or Phantom.

Then the human half turned to Megan again, his mischievous smile making her nervous.

"So Meg, your choice?"

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

It was really fun working with the two guides. If you felt Phantom wasn't so 'hero-ish' well that will be addressed in the next chapter.

So, see you in 13 days!

R&R


	12. Hope's imprisonment

Sorry for the delay. This is now perhaps the longest chapter of this story and one of the longest I've ever written.

I really hope you enjoy it.

Music recommendations: You might enjoy "Psychosis" by Poets of the fall, and "The Unforgiven I" by Metallica.

So, let's begin!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter twelve

Hope's imprisonment

* * *

"About here, don't you think?"

Megan saw as Fenton nodded at his counterpart as they moved closer to a wall. It must have been about 'ten minutes' since they answered the human guide's question. It was actually an obvious answer, they weren't going to throw the only chance they had been offered to actually help real Phantom, so —even with those conditions— they had to take up the deal. Phantom had then moved to take Fenton and help him as the two guides told them to follow them; they had barely even talked since then.

"Do you think they are mad at us?" asked Artemis whispering to the martian girl.

Megan shook her head. No, she didn't think they were mad, but there might have been a divergence in their wishes. Phantom and Fenton were basically the same person cut in half, so if one of them did something the other wouldn't or didn't approve of, it was like having an internal quarrel with yourself. So maybe Fenton's proposition didn't suit Phantom that well. Perhaps the ghost half didn't want to help them out. Or perhaps it had to do with the fact that the black haired boy looked really tired at the moment and Phantom might have been really worried for his human half…

Whatever the case, she thought it better to leave them to themselves for the time being.

"Really… like, why did we have to make all the walls look so similar, dude?"

The ghost sighed shaking his head.

"If I'm to be honest, perhaps because the real us is not really that great with styling."

"Yeah… that totally stayed on your side, Mr. bed-sheet," added Fenton, letting out a small chuckle, as Phantom glared at him.

"Do you have to remind me about that every second? I gave it up after you took it, ok? So you don't need to keep reminding me about it."

"I will remind you till you give me back my hat, dude!"

"Oh, no, if you want the hat then you have to give back the cape!"

"Dude, you just said you gave up the thing, and it was a stupid and lame bed sheet! Mine was a totally sweet hat!"

"It was a really plain hat if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't ask you, did I?"

"Why must you be so irritating Fenton?"

"I don't know? Why must you be such a killjoy Phantom?"

"I am not the…"

Megan sweat dropped at the scene unfolding in front of her. Maybe she had been looking too deeply into things, those two seemed to be doing pretty well… perhaps they had simply been recovering energy from their last bickering to start a new one.

"Mmm… Megan, shouldn't we stop them? We are losing time…" asked Aqualad watching the two teens fight.

"Yeah, you're right," said the boy wonder before forming a mischievous smile. "Hey! P&F would you focus here, we're kind of in a hurry, you know?" The reaction was immediate.

"**It's Phantom and Fenton, bird brain!"**

Robin backed a little with his hands up in a peace sign as he offered a cheeky smile.

"I know, I know. But you are supposed to guide us and you are taking your sweet time to fight each other, so I had to call your attention somehow, don't you think?"

The two guides glared at him for a moment before sighing and letting it go.

A soft chuckle by the side made Robin turn to a smirking Artemis.

"What?" he whispered curious about her laugh.

She smiled and said: "P&F… now we just need a platypus and we are all set."

The two kids made their best to contain their snickers as they hoped the guides didn't mind them much.

Ignoring them, Phantom raised on glowing hand towards the cold icy rock as his eyes brightened significantly.

"No need to worry about time, we'll take a short cut," he said as the rock glowed the same green as his hand, before a passage appeared in front of him as if it had always been there. "There, we can move now."

Turning to the teenagers, the two guides had to smile cockily at their dumbfounded expressions.

"What? Never saw a passage appear out of nowhere?" asked the white haired teen.

"You could make a short cut?" asked the confused Megan.

"Pfff, Meg, this is our head remember?" answered Fenton.

"We can do it, but only because we still have some energy left and because we are in a hurry, so don't expect it to happen again, we are just cutting a few passages in between. It's going to be a little longer from here on, but less than the actual passage would have taken us. After all, you somehow managed to get lost in the outskirts of our mind."

The two boys began moving into the new corridor, as the other teens could only groan, realizing that they had been going in circles in the outside of Phantom's mind for hours on end.

* * *

Wally was hiding around a corner as he spied Black Canary hitting a punching bag with deadly precision… if that had been a real man, he would have been completely knocked out after her first kick. And what a grace she had in those fluid movements, man! No doubt she was so difficult to defeat! How green arrow got to be with such a refined woman was completely beyond him. But it was probably his jealousy speaking… since he didn't seem to have a moment to conquer his own especial lady… a graceful archer that filled his mind… was she ok? He hoped so, he really couldn't think about what he would do if something bad happened to Artemis…

Shaking his head he let out a small groan. There he was, supposed to be alert and in watch and he couldn't help but let his thoughts drift every few seconds back to the beautiful archer… DUDE! He had never felt this worried!

Sighing silently, he decided that he had watched his sparring teacher long enough; she was obviously not going to be changing places any time soon. Moving fast, he left the place not making a single sound.

Once he was back in the center hall, he moaned slightly as his hands ruffled his ginger hair furiously, he was just so FREAKING nervous! He wanted to punch something. Maybe he should join Canary in the training room… he could keep an eye on her and let out some steam…But then he wouldn't be able to keep watch over Red Tornado… He groaned once more at this. The android was in his personal room, so there was really not much Kid Flash could keep watch on, I mean, he couldn't exactly fly all the way up to that room, so he could only look at the door every few minutes to see if he had gone out or something…

Every few minutes!

AH! How could he be this anxious? His friends had only been gone for at least twenty minutes; it wasn't like they had been gone for days or even hours, just a few minutes… damn! He needed a cup of tea or something… snacks! Yeah, he needed snacks, good, fat-filled snacks…. Maybe chips… something to keep him distracted… yeah, that would work.

But, just as he was about to walk to the kitchen, he heard the distinctive sound that meant a zeta beam portal was being activated. By the time the light appeared on the tunnel, Wally had already run all the way towards one of the passages that would let him escape faster if needed. There, he leaned against the rock wall to see who the new arrival was. When the mechanized female voice called the number and the name of the leaguer, Wally's eyes widened as he felt his stomach drop. His feet took him quickly out of the room as his hand pressed the emergency button on his communicator.

"Manhunter! Manhunter IS here!" he whispered anxiously to the little device.

"We know, Conner just heard the name being called by the Zeta-tube." Answered Rocket, her voice wavered slightly, showing her concern.

"What do we do?" asked the speedster, too startled to actually think about a plan himself, his head wasn't really all here at the moment and it hasn't been since his best friend and the girl he cared for left on a potential suicide mission.

"First, we need to know why he is here, perhaps there's been a crisis and he's just here to ask for some backup, or maybe he just needs to speak to the other seniors. Kid Flash, try to engage on a conversation with him."

"WHAT?!" squealed the teen to the communicator.

"Wally, just ask why he's here. Remember, last time you saw him he forced Megan into 'deep sleep', fake you're annoyed or something and keep it cool. For all you know, Conner was so upset with what he did that we all left him to be with her alone… or something like that…" said Zatanna. A soft groan of annoyance told Wally that Conner wasn't exactly happy of being the scapegoat.

"Oh… Ok… I- I'll do that!" he said, finding in himself the resolution to do as asked, he couldn't allow anyone else to make this mission even harder for his friends.

"Good, try to keep him away, and when you find out, come back to the infirmary to regroup and think of a plan of action, ok?" Rocket said with as much authority as she could. Wally was surprised that she was actually pulling this whole 'leader act' so well, Kaldur would be proud.

Taking a huge gulp of air, the speedster straightened himself to go to wait and question the Manhunter or die trying… well… not really die… but you get the idea.

* * *

They had been walking for a while and many doors were passed by then. It was still something that concerned each of them, how these doors were actually the most dangerous thing around the place. Robin couldn't help but wonder, what could be inside each door… the ghost guide had called him lucky for getting the lesser bad between the bad memories… if waking up to find out someone was cutting you open and touching your insides was the best memory between the bad ones… what could possibly be the worst? Looking to his friend he saw that Artemis was looking at the heavy metal doors with the same apprehension he did, obviously she was just as messed up in the head as he was by what she saw… and now he did understand why she was so scared… he wondered if he would actually be able to survive more of that…

The eerie silence that surrounded the group was only cut every few minutes by Fenton's mumbled words… it seemed the boy wasn't able to make a coherent comment or perhaps it was that he was just blurting the first thing that came to mind out of boredom… sometimes he would mumble about how good it would be to have his hat back or about how great it would be to have a few change of clothes cause he felt disgusting… some others he would just randomly say words like 'wall', 'door', 'ice'… almost as if he was playing with himself "I spy". Perhaps the most disturbing was when he would hum little tunes that weren't recognizable to any of them, notes that were off key, and made shivers run down their spines. Robin hadn't noticed it before, but their human guide was leaving a trail of red blood on their way, small drops falling down as they moved forward. The boy couldn't help but wonder if a mental 'guide' could die from blood loss.

Phantom remained imperturbably silent, he just hugged his human half closer every time the boy hobbled too badly and sometimes he would wince at something the other would say. But every time the delirious boy stopped talking and the silence reign over them, it was like the pressure of the environment reappeared with vengeance. Perhaps it was Robin's new found paranoia about his surroundings, but he almost felt as if the silence was taking his friends farther away from him… as if he walked alone down the passage every time it happened and would find himself moving closer to Kaldur, Artemis or Megan, searching some kind of solace for his worried mind. Strangely enough, when this sensation escalated to the point it would almost cause him a small panic attack, the human guide would break the silence with his nonsensical rambles, transporting the boy wonder back to 'reality'. It kind of made him wonder if Fenton knew what silence was doing to him… and maybe to Artemis and Megan as well…

Suddenly, he was awakened from his reverie when Megan decided to start a conversation.

"So… if you don't mind me asking, why are you two suddenly older?" she asked the guides with a soft voice, but still clear enough to cut through the silence like a sharp knife.

The ghost guide turned a little his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.

"You mentioned it before… that they were as young as Robin is… right?" asked Kaldur, apparently relieved that they had stopped the silent treatment.

"Indeed," answered the guide, turning back to the front and balancing his counterpart so he was a little more stable on his working foot. "We were created from a memory that happened when the original was younger than we look at the current moment."

"So… why are you older now?" asked Artemis, getting a little closer to Robin.

There was a small grunt before a strong coughing was heard. The black haired teen hacked furiously as his left hand covered his mouth trying to regain his breath. The ghost half called his name gently asking him if he was alright, but the boy wonder could see the human teen wasn't alright at all. The sound of something wet confirmed that there was liquid blocking his air ways —regardless of how strange it was for a figment of imagination to be so realistic— and then his deductions were proven right when blood began dropping from the guide's hand. The boy looked at his dirty limb clearly dazed by the effort the little attack had demanded on him, his mouth allowing a small trail of the substance to fall down his chin.

"Dude… s-so totally disgusting… tastes like metal… I hate that flavor…"

"Fenton…" Phantom frowned deeply before he cleaned the other's mouth with his white glove, staining it red. The other teen blinked at him getting the gist and wiped the residues from his mouth on his green shirt.

"So disgusting…" he mumbled cleaning his hand as well.

It was then, as the boy wonder watched the human teen struggling to recover his balance, that he actually came to believe that the memory guide could die from blood loss… Fenton was reacting to internal damage the way a real human would… what could that mean?

Trying to cut the weird mood descending over them, Megan reminded them of the previous question… perhaps she knew that asking how the boy was would be useless, cause it was just obvious he wasn't ok, no need to waste the standard question there. For an instant the ghost seemed nervous by her repeating the question, fortunately his twin came to his rescue.

"That's cause the real me is catching to us!" declared the human boy, a weird grin on his face, as if he hadn't just coughed up blood.

Groaning at his doppelganger's antics and the obviously confused stares from the other teens, Phantom took over the conversation.

"We are not really sure, but I believe there is a huge possibility that other memory residues may have influenced our original imprint making it evolve a few years to match the original's figure… personally, I'm just grateful the blending didn't include all the wounds and deterioration he has at the moment, that would have been counterproductive."

"Ohhh, co-unter-productive, careful there! Mr. Big-words is in the house!" taunted the human half, his mischievous smile growing.

"Stop it Fenton, it's not my fault you forgot those words," answered the proud ghost.

"Well… technically is half your fault dude, like we both are halves of the original? Meaning we have half fault each… or something?" chuckled the teen.

Allowing them to continue their bickering —mainly because it was simply too amusing and they seemed to just love to do that— Robin looked at the construction of the whole memory lane, wondering how long would it be till they reached the center.

"Such an intricate place…" he said to himself, but it seemed the guides heard him, for Phantom looked at him with curiosity.

"Yes, yes it is, isn't it?" he said with a smile on his face… one of the few he actually allowed them to see. "The construction of this environment is actually a very refined and complex labyrinth," he said almost as if he was proud of being the one to say it.

Trying to take advantage on the apparently more conversational attitude of the ghost, he continued with another question.

"Why a maze?" he asked almost innocently. Phantom, though, reacted with a small frown as if he was disappointed about something, and pouting —was he actually pouting?!— said:

"Well, I prefer the term labyrinth; it is much more epic..."

The human half groaned at his twin.

"Oh, dude, not your terms again!"

Phantom straightened in a dignified manner, pulling at his other half a little by doing so.

"Well, I apologize once more for being the one to retain part of our cultivated vocabulary Fenton, I consider it's a proper way to honor our human tutor who tried his best to teach us all he could."

"Yeah, haha, the fat, old and bald man! Come on dude, we don't even remember him beyond that! Say, can you actually even recall his name?"

"Well… no…"

"See? Let the terms go dude, cause I swear to you, If I hear one single 'super' coming out of you then I'll triple the 'dude' usage in my totally awesome vocabulary."

The ghost frowned at his counterpart before sighing in defeat. "Bleeding Ghosts, Fenton, I simply can't get you to stop bothering me, can I?"

"It's my job, dude," then the human boy looked to the side at Robin. "So… a maze? Well, that explanation comes with a sweet story on the side, dude," the team kind of wondered if the boy's weird attitude was due to the blood loss, he seemed a little out of it. "You see, there was this old dude once… what was his name?… Phantom, what was his name?"

"If you mean the story you read in that old magazine, I doubt we ever really paid any close attention to that person's name," said the ghost pulling on his human half to lean better over his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah… I forgot we forgot. Oh, well. Back to this dude… well, you see, he was convinced his house was haunted by ghosts and evil spirits…"

"You know, actually I think it was an old lady, not a man," mumbled Phantom.

"Oh yeah! It was an old lady… right, so this old lady was like totally scared that the spirits would get to her and hurt her… so she goes all like 'oh, if I built a house and add new places every second never finishing it, the ghosts will get lost and won't find me' or somethin' like that."

"Curses Fenton, could you stop balancing yourself so much?"

"ha ha ha, No." said the boy with a annoyed expression. "When my working leg stops shivering, I'll stop it, and not before, got it?" the other could only sigh as he conceded him that. "Ok, so about the story…"

"You're talking about the Winchester Mansion, right? It used to be considered the most hunted place in America till about three years ago I think…"

The boy wonder's comment made the two memory guides sober up immediately. Fenton suddenly winced in pain holding his chest a little tighter as his partner helped him to lean more of his weight on him. Robin didn't know if he had said something wrong, but it did seem he had found a touchy subject…

"W-where was I? … Phantom… where was I?" asked Fenton in a squeaky voice as his eyes seemed lost and slightly glazed for a second. His counterpart pulled at his arm a little making him turn to look at the ghost's face.

"You where in 'about the story…'" he supplied, concern filling his voice.

"Oh yeah…" the human half looked back at the other teens as they watched their interactions closely. "Well… yeah I think it was like Winchester or something… the thing is, this is our own version of the Winchester mansion dude. The Phantom's lab-labyrid-labid… uh… maze! The Phantom's maze! Especially now more than ever," he gave a joking chuckle that made the ghost frown in sadness.

"It's more of a Fenton's."

"Dude, you ain't convincing no one here," he said giving a soft pat to the others' shoulder. Going back to the worried teens, he continued. "The real us got so scared of what he knew, of what he could remember he like built this place to hide it all in. Doors of steel became prisons for our little 'demons'," he said making the quotation marks with his free hand for emphasis. "As my real self hid by escaping around the growing number of corridors and stuff like that… Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we got so desperate we packed every memory into the doors… so… we kinda lost all of them, except for the ones that got to escape by themselves… and then I tried running from those… but that didn't help e-e-eeither… so… so… like… mm…. dude… uh… w-w-where are we again?" The confused human teen looked to his ghost friend who simply shook his head.

"We're going to the center of our mind. Relax, we are getting closer."

"Oh, good dude… my chest is killing me, no pun intended," he said with a silly smile.

Robin watched as the concerned filled stare from the ghost traveled all the way from Fenton to his form, where it turned into a glare. The human teen soon followed the other's example and looked at the nervous boy wonder from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, bird boy," called Fenton, leaning on his double to rise part of his body and look commanding. "If you don't stop doing that, you'll be traumatized forever and your reality will become your nightmare. I told you already, that wasn't your pain to bear, it's ours."

It was only then that the boy noticed his hand had been doing that frantic circle pattern over his clothed chest. Startled, Robin pulled his hand away as if it was suddenly burning him. This was getting really scary… when had he started doing that?

"About the same time your archer friend did," growled Phantom looking at Artemis' form with his piercing eyes.

Robin noticed then she had been holding her arm and scratching her skin… this wasn't good, not at all, if their guides were right about the memories, then they'd regret it later. Why weren't they able to stop? It was completely clear in his mind that he was NOT the one in that memory being hold by restrains as the doctor-look-alike cut him open, as a matter of fact, if he tried remembering it he felt as if he was just watching a realistic horror movie from the side… but somehow… sometimes… he just felt he was in the victim's place and it was beginning to bug him seriously.

The boy wonder would have continued this line of thought till one of the guides stopped him as if there hadn't been a sudden change in their surroundings at that moment. The passage began to shake, making everyone look around them in fear, knowing things were about to get ugly.

"Hurry, let's get out of here!" exclaimed Phantom guiding them away from that place, raising his hand if a piece of debris got too close to the teens and somehow making a shield out of green light that would protect them.

The earth shook strongly, almost as if someone was shaking the floor up and down aggressively, so bad that Megan lost her footing and fell backwards with a yelp. It was then one of the doors began shaking furiously as if it could feel a prey close to reach.

"Oh… that's not good…" the teens could hear Fenton say from a little away as Phantom helped him remain upright, but the team's focused was on the martian and the danger looming closer to her. The girl had hit her head when she fell to the floor so she was slightly disoriented, ignoring her potential doom. Robin saw Kaldur's jaw tighten as his mind seemed to come to a decision, in a few seconds he had jumped in front of Megan to shield her as the door was blown open and the light filled the place. "Oh, dude, I take it back. That is worse!" they heard Fenton groan before the light disappeared leaving the hero team and the guides alone in the passage without Kaldur. Megan blinked as she noticed she wasn't taken by the memory and then gasped as she realized Aqualad had taken her place. The cave's shaking had come to a halt after the door had taken another victim… Robin wondered if it was a coincidence at all.

"Why? The only one that hadn't been tainted yet… that's one unlucky turn of events…" commented Phantom as his wide eyes watched the door closely. "Megan is more used to facing our memories… he shouldn't have done something so reckless… there is no place in here to play hero."

"Oh… oh… Oh no… D-D-DUDE!" they suddenly turned to look at Fenton who had a strange expression on his face, which seemed a mix between terror and confusion, as he looked at his left shoulder. "This is not good… not good at all!" he said as a weird and desperate smile appeared on his face. Robin wondered what was going on with him when he saw a line of blood slowly appear staining his shirt… a new wound forming. The human teen chuckled almost crazily as his jaw tighten up. "Phan…Phantom…. Phantom, dude! G-go get him out… please take him out…" the guide begged his counterpart who for a moment froze at the clear anguish in his partner's face. "Please… Phantom, Please I don't want to lose my arm… please!"

Awoken by Fenton's cries, Phantom pulled him off of him and leaned him back against the wall, and then he basically disappear while whispering a soft 'hang on'. Scared, the three team members looked at each other before looking back at their human guide, who was currently hitting the wall with his forehead as more and more blood stained his left shoulder.

"I don't wanna lose my arm, I don't wanna lose my arm, I still need my arm, I don't wanna lose my arm, I still need it, I don't wanna lose my arm, Idon'tdon'tdon'tdon't," he kept mumbling as he hit the wall once and again and again, then he grinded his teeth in a desperate attempt to silence his agonized cries but he failed miserably. Robin felt fear crawling over him… what could Kaldur be going through? No… forget that for a second… What was FENTON GOING THROUGH? he suddenly felt an urgent need to help, the teen was in so much torment, he needed help, NOW! But when he took a step forward he saw the tortured apparition throwing him warning glare that clearly say 'stay away'. He gulped loudly as he froze under such a hateful gaze for he may have never seen such resentment directed his way, ever before.

"Freaking doors… freaking intruders… freaking death! Why the heck must it take so long?!" the boy growled as he slowly slid to the floor clutching his bleeding arm with all his might, as pitiful whimpers escaped his mouth. "Why so long?!"

The boy wonder saw Megan was hesitating on the floor, she obviously wanted to run to the boy and comfort him but he had made it obvious he didn't want them close, he probably even blamed them for what he was going through right then… and suddenly he came to the realization that this was really their fault. This conjured up apparitions, both guides, they were scapegoats, they would suffer the same pain each of them went through inside the memory, but they would carry the wound afterwards. Robin remembered the fear from the memory, but Fenton carried it as a physical reminder of what had happened. Almost like the boy had said, they were lives… or more accurately, life-points. Each memory took a toll, and diminished what was left of their extra lives… so how much did Fenton have left? And exactly how did their pain affect the original Phantom? Or how was the original affecting them? The boy wonder suddenly felt so guilty… so responsible for someone else's suffering… why were they forcing these two guides to go through this? Why were they being so cruel?

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled softly, so softly no one would be able to hear him, but he still did. "I'm really sorry…" and if he had only seen to his left he would have noticed that Artemis was also whispering the same thing he was, cause it hadn't taken her long to reach the same conclusion and she had never hated herself so much.

It would take perhaps two more minutes before Phantom reappeared, and a shaken Kaldur fell out of the closed door. Phantom would then run to his human half and comfort him as best as he could as the other teens would reach for Aqualad and try to clear his head so he could let go of the memory. From then on, silence would once more fill their little parade as it was only broken by Fenton's slurred speech or Phantom's demands for Kaldur to stop clutching his arm, as he told him in an almost hateful voice that he should be glad, it wasn't his memory after all… so he had never really felt what it was like… to have your arm being cut off.

* * *

The moment he set foot in the cave he felt his confidence disappear completely. He wasn't sure how to apologize properly since part of him was stubbornly hanging into the idea that he did the right thing, but Superman was right, he needed to explain himself to his niece if he ever wanted her to forgive him. Taking a deep breath he began to walk to one of the halls.

Passing by one of the many different rooms he noticed the presence of someone in the kitchen/living room and keen for any kind of distraction he looked into it —one of his niece's favorites places in the cave— to see who was roaming around it. It came with little surprise when he saw Kid Flash going around making himself a 'snack' as he grumbled under his breath. The boy seemed nervous and perhaps even angry… and even thought it was a little farfetched of him, J'onn wondered if he was the cause for these feelings.

Now, he could easily have looked into the speedster's mind, but he knew better than to force himself into another's mind, at least when they didn't really need him to do it… Megan was a special case… he had to stop her… it was for own her good… well…

Deciding he better saw if the boy was alright —though he knew he was really stalling— he entered the room, not trying to mask the sound of his steps at all. Wally reacted immediately turning around in surprise and fixing his gaze on the martian, seconds after he frowned in annoyance and went back to concentrate on his sandwich. The Manhunter stopped for an instant when he noticed the barely contained anxiety in the boy's gaze… was Kid Flash scared of him? Was he angry at him?

"Good evening, Kid Flash," he decided for the polite greeting.

"Yeah… 'good' evening," answered the boy, but his voice revealed no emotion this time around.

"Where is everyone else?" he asked carefully, trying to be comprehensive.

"Well, don't know for the majority of them, but I'm sure you know where 'someone' IS at the moment," the accusation in the boy's voice made the seasoned hero flinch internally.

"I was expecting that you would all be by her side at this time…" he said, trying to ease the tension.

The boy simply groaned.

"We kinda were… but Conner can only deal with his frustration so well while we are around… we thought it better to leave him alone with her… you know, so he doesn't punch someone?" the teen said casually as he spread some mayonnaise on his snack.

The martian nodded in understanding, Superboy was really in love with his niece… he surely wouldn't have taken things very well…

"I apologize for having caused you all such inconvenience," he said tiredly. The speedster only sighed, before leaving everything on the counter and looking at the Manhunter in the eyes.

"I understand your intention was to make sure Megan was safe… but invading her mind was crossing some sort of line… don't you think?" the teen said, uneasily. The martian could only nod.

"You are right on that. It was harsh of me to do so, and that's why I've came back, I need to apologize to her myself. Explain I never wanted to offend her with such clear invasion of her mental privacy. Even thought in mars it's quite normal to read each other minds, forcing someone else by mind intervention IS completely different," he confessed hoping the boy could see his sincerity and forgive him for all the problems he may have caused.

"So… you came back to see Megan?" the boy looked a little nervous at the prospect. But the senior simply nodded in return. "Well… not that I'm saying it's a bad idea… I understand you want to apologize and all… b-but perhaps you should wait a little longer. I mean, she probably won't wake up till a few more hours, and right now, if you go in there… you'll just make Superboy snap… and he's been really walking the tight rope lately…" explained the speedster as he rubbed the back of his head looking away.

J'onn thought a little about this piece of advice, and concluded that perhaps Kid Flash was right. Maybe it would be better if he avoided entering in Megan's room till Superboy had calmed down a little. Not that the martian was particularly worried about Conner attacking him, he had dealt with angry Kryptonians before, he was more worried about the boy doing something he would regret later… especially because since New Year, the relationship between the young clone and Superman seemed to have been taking on a new and positive direction —albeit in baby steps, but it was at least better than the "If I don't acknowledge you, you don't exist" kind of attitude the man of steel had before. J'onn would really hate to force the teen to do something that would ruin this hard earned progress.

"Where are Black Canary and Red Tornado?" he decided to ask, changing the subject.

The speedster blinked a few times before letting out a sigh of… relief?

"Well…. Tornado is been locked in his personal room… maybe looking at that weird alloy they found or something… Black Canary… I think she was in the training room… least Aqualad said so before we got separated." The teen then took a huge bite from his sandwich, making it clear that that was all he knew.

The martian nodded in agreement.

"Then I shall go to Red Tornado, perhaps I can assist him with that mystery. Kid Flash, would you be kind enough to alert me if Megan awakes or if Superboy seems more open to company?"

The boy keenly swallowed his food before nodding.

"You got that, the moment something changes I'll let you know," he said offering his usual grin. The Martian smiled back before turning around and slowly leaving the room. He felt a little better knowing that at least one of the teens was no longer that mad at him… but somewhere within his mind, he couldn't help but think something was off with Kid Flash…

* * *

Kaldur felt the heavy atmosphere pressing on him with vengeance… it was bad before, but now? He had to constantly remind himself to not touch his left arm… but he could still remember the bite of the cold metal knife, of the saw running through his flesh… the smell of blood and the whispers around him… he had never felt so desperate as his delusional mind kept repeating the mantra of 'please don't take my arm' and yet no one would listen cause he had no voice to say it with. And he would shake and shiver but no one would be merciful enough to stop the pain… and it was such a horrible pain… such a terrible pain…

The Atlantean warrior blinked hard a few times trying to leave the images behind him, he wouldn't allow himself to think about that, the more he did the worse things would get and… turning to the side he noticed once more his hand was grasping firmly at his shoulder, and once more he didn't notice. The warrior sighed and pulled it away from the joint that seemed to throb with the ghost of the pain… he wasn't the one hurt, he wasn't the one hurt, he wasn't the one hurt! … but the mere idea that Phantom did, that was just as disturbing to him, how could he even survived that?

"Kaldur…?" the atlantean turned to look at his youngest comrade who was sporting a worried frown as he looked at him.

"I'm fine, just still a little dazed," he said trying to ease his friend's concern, but it didn't seem to convince him completely, perhaps it was because Robin knew how difficult it was to control this growing fear, and also because he too seemed to struggle to keep his mental body from reacting to the memory he saw. To all of this… he noticed Artemis and the boy wonder both struggling but Megan seemed to be completely under control… aside from her nervous demeanor she seemed fine… why? She supposedly went through some memories before waking from her first visit… wasn't she affected by them?

It appeared the young boy noticed his attention on the Martian girl as she walked in front of them.

"Megan… didn't you get affected by a memory too?" he asked casually, trying to hide the tension he was feeling.

Megan turned to look at them for an instant, easily noticing how badly they were faring. She frowned.

"Yeah…" she said carefully. "I was… actually I fell in three of these doors before the guides finally caught up with me…" the group looked at the guides who seemed to not be paying any attention, but it might have been because they were whispering their conversation.

"But… you almost seem at ease…" said the nervous archer. The martian looked sadly to the side.

"I… I may not have gone deeply into the physical connection…," she said, and before they could ask why she turned to them and pointed to the white 'X' on her chest. It took them a while to understand her meaning but they soon did. The white mark clearly was there to represent the most important secret Megan had, her white martian origin. Being her real form completely different from a human physiology it was only logical she would be able to distance herself faster from the idea of being in Phantom's place. "B-but… because I wasn't really able to connect with the physical part of it, I was more exposed to the auditory side… you, who were overwhelmed by pain, probably didn't really heard much of what was been said in those memories… but I can assure you… it was really awful…" her eyes glazed over a little as if she was holding back her tears.

"Sooo… you didn't feel pain?" asked Artemis, perhaps a little jealous that the other girl had gotten away without it.

"No… I did… I simply was able to know faster that it wasn't really mine… took me a while… but till some point I was able to detach myself from it all. But then.. as the pain happened I heard the voices… and I was… well…" her closed as a small tear fell down her cheek.

"Megan?" asked the leader, worried for the martian. She just shook her head and cleaned her cheek.

"Sorry… can we… can we just not talk about it?" they all nodded. Artemis even apologized for asking as they slowly turned back to their guides, who kept walking ahead not minding the rest of the world.

"Those two are really peculiar, aren't they?" commented the boy wonder, keeping his voice as low as he could so as to not bother them.

"Yeah… they fight each other then they just seem to depend on the other so much… especially Phantom… he's so careful with Fenton…" said the archer, making the Atlantean nod in agreement.

"Then… is Phantom like Fenton's servant or something?" asked Robin to Megan, out of curiosity.

"I can hear you, you know?" said the slightly exasperated voice of Phantom, making the boy wonder flinch at being caught, and then look at the back of the ghost, sheepishly rubbing his cheek.

"S-sorry… I'm just naturally curious…" explained the boy wonder hoping the ghost will accept his excuse.

Phantom only send him a glare from the corner of his eye before turning back once more to the front, making the team think that he was going to ignore them once more, but they were proven wrong when the white haired teen made them a question.

"Say, mortals… what is worse: a wound to the body or a wound to the mind?" he asked as he made an effort to stabilized his other half. Since Kaldur's last experience, Fenton seemed to be getting weaker, the pace the group was advancing was slower and the comments the boy made seemed even more delusional than they used to be. The leader wondered how much had the new wound deteriorated the memory guide.

The teens looked at each other thinking carefully only to find they already knew the answer quite well.

"A wound to the mind," answered Kaldur, knowing full well that a flesh wound would eventually heal, but it was the mind that will always remember the pain, and that memory could easily bring you down.

The ghost nodded in agreement.

"Tell me Megan, did you tell them about the wall?"

Megan looked at him closely before shaking her head in negative.

"Wall, wall, wallity, wall," chanted the human boy raising his head tiredly to look at the 'wall'. "Dude… why do we even call that a 'wall? ...that's more like a freaking ceiling and even when you were outside… it was just your the stupid floor… what is so 'wall-ish' about that 'wall' anyway?" Phantom groaned at his doppelganger's tired response.

"Fenton, just… just look at the shiny sphere, would you?"

The boy looked at him in confusion through half lidded eyes.

"Shiny ball? What shiny ba—? Oh! THAT shiny ball… sweet dude…" said the boy as he followed the small green glowing ball that had materialized from the ghost's hand.

Surprised by the teen's childish and easily distracted reaction Artemis had to ask, "Is he always like that?"

Phantom sighed. "No… not really, he's just not all 'there' at the moment…let's take five so that I can share some energy with my human self while I explain the wall to you."

The team watched as the ghost directed his partner to the wall and —with the distraction of the bright ball— he helped the other boy to slid down into a sitting position. He then placed a glowing green hand over his counterpart's shoulder. The other teen's head lolled from side to side as his eyes slid close, but before they did, the team saw how they went from blue to shiny green. In a few seconds, Fenton seemed to fall asleep.

"You can share your energy with him?" asked the boy wonder.

"Technically is as much his energy as my own. We were created from the same memory so we are truly just one guide cut in half." He explained. "Imagine the energy of one battery divided into two different recipients, less energy for each recipient than the original battery, but if one of them stops working the other is still available… of course, it wasn't really a tactical choice, the original had little to no option but to take this particular memory to create your guides." Kaldur looked at Phantom's concentrated expression, seeing how much effort he dedicated to the protection of his other half, it was obvious how much they needed each other.

"Why?" asked Artemis, but was answered by Megan's sad voice.

"The wall…"

Phantom looked at the Martian for a second before nodding.

"That wall… we weren't really aware of it till Megan came here. The damage it caused was really huge…" he paused for a moment as he observed Fenton's relaxed expression. "Do you know what dissociation means?" he asked slowly.

"To distance or to separate two concepts," offered the boy wonder.

"Yeah, that's a good definition. That explains clearly what happened here actually…" the ghost sighed. "We are two halves of a whole… two separated halves… two dissociated halves…"the ghost's voice became softer by the end of his sentence as he appeared to be debating between saying something more or staying silent.

"Phantom dissociated himself?" asked a worried Kaldur. Phantom looked startled for an instant, before nodding solemnly.

"You see, it's a funny thing… a ghost and a human are two different sides from the spectrum of existence. We both work in really different ways but the two of us were somehow made one. Yet our particular characteristics applied to the whole." He took a deep breath before continuing, the teens giving him their undivided attention. "Ghosts are really strong physically speaking… we don't have a 'real' body so we tend to be truly resilient to physical harm, whereas mortals are really weak to wounds and pain."

"On the other hand… ghosts and emotions… well" he seemed to take a moment before deciding to change the direction of his words. "Well, the main idea is that the wall was the dissociating factor. The original left the 'Phantom' part of his psyche on the cover to deal with all the new stuff thrown at his way. Every cut, every wound, Phantom took it on a stride and lived through it with a certain degree of ease. While the 'Fenton' side, the human physically vulnerable part, was locked up within the confines of this maze. It was meant to be an effort to protect our most precious yet weaker side… but it backfired," the boy clenched his eyes in obvious anger as his shiny hand gently caressed the relaxed face of the black haired boy. "Imprisoned with all the memories that had already happened, the human half was doomed to relieve them as many times as they happened to escape. You saw the hand prints on the walls around this cave… those are signs of that human side being attacked by the memories of his torment."

Kaldur felt his eyes widen at the obvious depressed reaction of the ghost… perhaps… part of Phantom blamed himself for having allowed the human boy to face all this 'demons' alone.

"It was the only thing the original could do to not go completely insane." He blinked a few times before quickly adding: "I'm not really sure about everything that's happened to him because I was not originally created from a memory belonging to the period of time in which he was suffering through it… but being affected by the residual energy of the memories, I get a pretty clear idea of it all."

"So… there was a time when things were not like this?" asked the boy wonder.

"I surely would hope so…" answered the ghost boy.

"Then, do you know about yourself before this? Your family… your life?" asked Artemis.

The ghost chuckled softly, his face sporting a sadden smile.

"I'm afraid if you want those answers you will have to ask them," he said as he pointed to one of the closed doors. "As Fenton already explained to you, when things began to crumble down, the real me got so desperate he finished dissociating himself from every memory, anything about the real us is probably trapped behind a door as well."

"Then… why were you the memory chosen?" asked Kaldur.

"Because I-I was the memory of the first time Phantom and Fenton became separated. In a strangely physical way… I know it was due to a really bad choice on our part… but we lack any kind of context to our origins… we remember silly irrelevant details, but nothing to actually explain much about it. After all, memories are never just separated entities, they are more like a web… once the others were trapped it was only logical that anything within our original content related to them would also vanish from us…"

There was silence for a few seconds, before they noticed Fenton was slowly opening his eyes once more. The human teen blinked a few times before focusing on his other half's hands and roughly pushing Phantom away from him.

"Dude! The heck you think you're doing?!" he asked angrily.

"Fenton… I was just trying to help you so we could continue faster…"

"Yeah, but by doing so you'll make yourself slower dumbass!" said the grumpy boy. Phantom just sighed in resignation as he slowly stood back on his feet.

"We really should get going, now at least we can move better," the human boy just grunted as the ghost pulled him up again, he sported a deep frown but his eyes were brighter and he seemed less tired.

"I'm not going to thank you," he childishly declared to his other half.

"Well, I wasn't going to ask you to," said the white haired teen as if he had no interest in the idea.

"Good, cause I'm not going to!"

"Good." Answered Phantom.

"GOOD!" growled Fenton.

And so, the team began moving once more, with a little more understanding on the situation. They walked and walked, and every few seconds the slightly revitalized Fenton would ask them a random question, apparently really bored of just walking.

"So… bird boy, why is there a blue bird on your T-shirt?" he asked once, making Robing flinch back and cover his symbol with his arms.

"I-i-it's personal!" he declared.

"Oh… so is it like…embarrassing or something?" asked the boy slyly making the other teen look away.

"Human, it's not polite to ask other's about their secrets," chastised Phantom.

"Well sorry GHOST, I was just curious," grumbled the boy. "So… If you can't tell me why the blue bird… can you tell me why the weird tattoos?" he said turning to Aqualad who became uncomfortable with the question. "Uh…no? meh… soooo, say arrow girl… about your little pendants…"

"I'm not telling you anything. To all of this, why are you two even dressed like that?" said Artemis, tired of the personal questions.

Fenton looked at her in confusion cocking his head to the side.

"What ya mean? This is my normal clothing…" he said pulling at the green shirt's material. "And Phantom's always wearing the jumpsuit, not that I'm really an enthusiast of the material but…"

"What is so wrong with jumpsuits?" asked the ghost, getting a little tired with the exchange.

"Nothing! Nothing… dude, just not my preference, just that," defended Fenton.

Artemis let out sigh before asking something else.

"So… you don't have any kind of weird secret thing on you like we have?" she asked a little annoyed.

"Yeah… like, the rule of the secret only applies to us?" asked the boy wonder.

Both guides seemed to think about it deeply, then think again by looking at the wall, then scratching their respective heads. And finally, they shrugged.

"I guess… you could count the hat and the cape… but since SOMEONE took my cape—"

"a.k.a. THE bed-sheet of DOOM," said Fenton with a smile on his face.

"Whatever, since we kind of deprived each other from them then it's not really much of a secret I guess…"

Suddenly, the two figures froze in their spot.

"Um… guys?" asked Megan after a few seconds of silence.

"W-well…P-perhaps, we don't sport secrets… cause they are all littered within doors…" said Fenton, clearly shaken by something.

The team looked past them to the end of the corridor they were walking in and gasped. There was a different kind of door down the hall. It was made of steel, but the rock it was embedded to seemed to be burning hot, shining softly in red instead of the normal blue hue the other walls did. But that wasn't all, the door was covered in chains and the handle had been melted as if someone wanted to prevent anyone from ever opening it. On the middle of the steel, was a distorted version of the symbol Phantom had on his chest and it seemed to pulse slightly as if it had a heart beat. Almost mesmerized by it, the boy wonder began walking to get a closer look, only to be stopped by Fenton's trembling hand in front of him.

"We have to get out of here," declared Phantom, sweat falling down his brow.

"What is that?" asked Megan, feeling the same ominous presence as they all did. The shadows around this door seemed to feast upon the fear they were projecting as their tendrils stretched slowly towards the group.

"A memory… a really bad memory…" whispered Fenton.

"A-about what exactly?" asked Artemis as she separated herself from the wall when a tendril tried to latch upon her.

"**You don't want to know," **said the two guides at the same time, strangely enough, both their eyes shining with en emerald glow. The two raised their free hands, both shining brightly in blue and green light to the wall by their right. A new passage was forced open. **"Come on, hurry unless you want to be swallowed,"** the way the shadows were expanding as if hunting them down made them seem like a virus, and none of the heroes wanted to find out to what sickness. Soon, they were all running down the passage, passing in front of the guides. When he passed in front of the twin apparitions, Aqualad sworn he heard them whisper, **"Try all you want, you won't get out." **

* * *

When KF began knocking at the door, Rocket had to get out of the other infirmary room to remind him he was just knocking at the empty room that was covered by the illusion. The boy sheepishly apologized about that and followed his friend into the real infirmary room. The sight of all the people still sleeping was a little disheartening to say the least.

"So?" asked Zatanna once the door was closed.

"He's here to see Megan. Wanted to apologize to her when she wakes up for being so harsh and 'forcing' her to sleep." He explained with all and quotation marks.

Conner groaned from his place on the floor. "Let me guess, you told him I was really mad at him?"

Wally looked at the kryptonian with confusion. "Wait… weren't you listening on our conversation?"

"We had him concentrate on Canary and Tornado in case either decided to see who had arrived." Explained Rocket.

"Oh! I see! Good idea," he said with a huge smile, before turning to Conner with an apologetic smile. "Sorry Supey… I was left with no choice on that matter," his only answer was another groan from the kryptonian on the floor.

"Then… is Manhunter coming?" asked the magician girl in worry.

Wally, thought, held himself with pride as he said: "No, I got to convince him that it wouldn't help Conner's condition," insert exasperated groan from the young clone sitting on the floor. "And he seemed to agree. So he went to visit Tornado, and will expect me to inform him if anything changes."

Rocket nodded at his explanation. "Excellent, that will give us some time. Now we just need to think of how to protect this room. We are only ten minutes away from the next round on Phantom, so let's make our game plan." The group moved closer to the girl to listen to their positions. "Ok… so, let's divide into two groups. First group, Kid Flash and Me, we shall be in front of the fake door to the infirmary and will act as if we were to be protecting it. That will surely distract the senior making them think we are actually defending the real door. Zatanna, you will have to keep that illusion as strong as you can." The spell caster nodded in agreement. "Conner and you will be inside the real room. If we fail and they notice the difference then Conner will come out to help us held them out for a little longer. Zatanna, try to see if you can delay them with your spells. Remember, we don't want to hurt them nor to get hurt ourselves, we just need to buy the others some time, got it?" everyone nodded understanding their missions. "Then let's get ready."

* * *

The structure of the alloy was vexingly complex. He had tried dividing the components but the impermeable cover seemed to refuse to let go of the metal. He was almost sure that the metallic compounds were steel and copper, but the greenish cover was where the mystery truly laid. Had he not been built to analyze each situation from the logical aspects that surrounded it, he would have said that the green component was somehow taking the metal as a host to exist, like a ghost would in old fairy tales. But if he didn't come soon up with an answer, he might have to admit that as a possibility.

Red Tornado was calculating the resistance to electrical conductivity the material had when his sensors detected an intruder in his room. The main computer had already informed him that Martian Manhunter was in the cave, so he wasn't really surprised when his comrade came to see him.

"Good evening, Red Tornado," greeted the alien always with his polite and gentle attitude.

"Good evening," answered the android with his mechanical one. "I must confess I'm surprised you came back so soon. Tell me, is there something I can assist you with, friend?"

The Martian smiled at Tornado's kindness, which sometimes would be even greater than his organic counterparts.

"Not really. I just wished to be present when Megan woke up, to try and explain my harsh treatment," the green hero walked towards the holograms Tornado was working with and began inspecting the data. Still, the android was able to notice the veil of concern and guilt the other had. Living creatures could only do so much to hide those facts.

"I am sure Megan would not hold that against you. She will understand your reasons," he said offering what he hoped were words of comfort.

The Manhunter turned to his friend and nodded. "Thank you Tornado, I do hope she will."

The android just nodded back at him before turning to the data he was looking through.

"Interesting, a metallic alloy of highly conductive components in the ideal thermal spectrum, yet it refuses to allow the pass of energy. Completely impermeable… what strange substance is this?" wondered the Martian as he moved some of the data around to see the structure that Tornado had come up with.

"It is truly a mystery. But in the last few hours, I have come to think that perhaps it shares some of kind of connection with the green substance that was found in the blood of Phantom when he arrived. Perhaps a counter component. I took a sample and place it a common piece of metal, the result was this," he brought up some data to show his alien comrade.

"It went through…?" commented the Manhunter looking at strange phenomena of the drop being absorbed by the metal as if it was only a net and not a solid compound.

"Not only that, but the metal piece conducted a fair charge of energy. Yet when placed on the strange alloy, the drop will remain in the cover the same way oil will on water." Showing the photo of that one he added: "They repel each other."

"A higher measure of containment, then?" the android nodded.

The two looked around all the data for a while till the computer informed them that Canary was trying to communicate with Tornado. The robotic hero pressed the income button and asked Canary what he could help her with.

"Tornado, didn't you said J'onn made Megan fall asleep?"

The android turned to his friend seeing he was looking at the communicator in confusion.

"Yes, indeed he did."

There was a tired sigh on the other end.

"Well, I think he was tricked." She said making the martian's eyes widen.

"Canary, why would you say that?" he asked, the concern in his voice was clear.

"J'onn? You were back? I'm sorry I didn't know that…" she answered softly, before seemingly taking a decision. "I was worried that the team would get upset by the disposition of the league to not risk their safety to help Phantom till we understood the situation better… so I decided to stop my practice in the training room to go look at them for a little while. But when I got to Megan's room, I found it empty."

Her declaration made the martian run to the computer and type on the keyboard franticly, causing the security feed-back to come up on screen. He looked for Megan's room, and found it, but she appeared to be in her bed with Conner by her side.

"Are you still in the room?" asked Tornado getting closer to the keyboard.

"Yes." She answered.

The android typed a few things before the camera fizzled out for a second before a new footage appeared of Canary standing in the middle of an empty room. The robot then proceeded to pull the image of the infirmary room where Phantom was resting alone and typed a few things more; showing the team being present and some of them looked to be asleep.

"Oh no…" mumbled the martian in fear, he obviously recognized what was happening.

"Canary, go to the infirmary, we'll meet you there." Said Tornado, pushing his alien friend into action as they both left when they heard their female comrade say she was on her way.

* * *

"Without farther a do, we give you, the center of our mind," said Phantom as he pointed the team into a large cavern like room. It was covered in ice and snow and was —incredibly— blood and door free. The snow was so pure and clean looking, as if it was freshly fallen. And for an instant they felt as if they had found the eye of the storm. But in the middle of it all, the damaged figure of the real Phantom told another story.

The boy in the center was hanging from chains that hold his arms extended to his sides and his legs immobile, the same way he used to be held when he was trapped in the containment unit, but there was no mask or bindings on his limbs, just chains. The teen's hair was a mixture between black and white locks, fighting for dominance. His body was just as scarred as it was on the outside and he seemed frail and feeble, but there was some kind of utter peace in his posture and expression that seemed to convey he was actually alright, just resting, sleeping, no need to worry. But that wasn't truth and they knew it.

Taking a step forward, Megan whispered his name: "Phantom?" but the boy didn't react at all.

"Hey… what are you all waiting for? Have we mentioned we won't last for long? Like… get on with it, don't ya think?" demanded Fenton, reminding them that they had yet to try something to wake him up.

The teens looked at each other, before nodding.

"So… any ideas?" asked Artemis, not really sure if she wanted to wake such a peaceful looking person from whatever dream they were having into this nightmare.

"Well… maybe we can cut off those chains?" asked the boy wonder.

"That could work… but with what?" asked the archer.

An exasperated grunt was heard followed by the sound of a finger snap.

Out of nowhere, their weapons appeared in their respective hands. Aqualad had his whips, Artemis had her bow and Robin had his explosive discs.

"H-How…?"

"Dude, you are just an image of your own person, like, seriously? You didn't know you could do that?"

"How were we supposed to know if you didn't tell us?" growled the archer, tired of the human guide's antics.

But the boy simply acted as if he had been looking to the other side before turning to her looking confused.

"Uh? Sorry, did you like say somethin'?" he said, making her clench her teeth in frustration.

"Just, get it over with, would you?" asked Phantom, not wanting to see the two discuss over this.

Artemis was going to retort when she felt a hand being placed on her should, turning she saw Kaldur shaking his head, telling her to let it go.

"Come on; let's try to break those chains."

The teenagers tried all the attacks they could, Megan using her telekinesis to try and pull at the base of the chains on the walls, Kaldur, Robin and Artemis trying to weaken and cut them in the middle, but the irons didn't even move, they didn't rattle or shake; they just remain there as if nothing had happened.

"Wow… trying to break the chains, isn't that original?" question Fenton.

"I'll say I give them 5 out of 10 for trying," answered Phantom.

The team made an effort to ignore their taunting as they regroup.

"Megan, perhaps you can contact with his inner self?" asked Kaldur.

"I could try," she answered. Then taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, as her hands went to her temples. When she opened her eyes they were glowing with her psychic connection.

"Man, a connection within a connection, now that is hardcore!" whispered Fenton, loud enough for the others to hear him. "Totally like a twofold dream, dude," he chuckled; Phantom, though, told him to keep quiet since Megan wanted to do something that required concentration. "Oh! Right… you got that, bro."

Megan tried hard, and her deep frown was proving of that. When it didn't seem to work she flew closer to the entrapped form of the hybrid.

"Oh, Meg! You don't want to touch him," warned the human guide.

But she ignored him and proceeded to place both hands on Phantom's temples as she leaned her forehead to his. Her eyes shined even brighter, but the boy didn't move at all. Not even a twitch on his brow. And suddenly, a strong wind forced the Martian away from him, throwing her aggressively against the farthest wall. Her friends run to see if she was ok, including two worried guides.

"Megan, you alright?" asked Phantom.

"Y-yeah…" she whimpered as she rubbed the back of her head.

"You ready to give up?" asked Fenton in a hopeful voice.

"No," she said, they had yet to try all they could.

Seeing that none of them really was going to back down, the guides shrugged and moved to lean against the wall, giving them space to do things their way.

The four heroes tried everything they could, from attacking to screaming loudly, even tickling the unconscious boy, but nothing they did, nothing at all made Phantom's form to react, nothing. And after almost wasting an hour doing this, the four friends finally had to admit they didn't have any more ideas… how could they wake up someone that didn't even listened to them?

* * *

Rocket wasn't really sure what they were going to do. She wasn't exactly the great strategist, nor a great 'leader', she was normally happy to help out following someone else, but Zatanna, Wally and Conner were too upset to think clearly and Kaldur'ahm had confided in her, and she wasn't about to let them all down. Could they actually pose any challenge to three leaguers? Well, she wanted to believe they could, they weren't children anymore, and they weren't weak. The real question was not if they would be able to stall them, but for how long. Eventually, there won't be much of a choice but to give up if they didn't want anyone to get hurt for real, so how long could they distract them before that scenario came to be?

A hand tapped her on the shoulder making her look to the speedster by her side. He gave her his classic easy going grin.

"Don't worry; you are doing it very well. We'll manage, besides they are surely almost done," he said, trying to offer her his support. She smiled and nodded, there was no time for doubts, they simply had to try for a little longer, the others were probably on their way back.

The sound of speeding feet made the two teens look at the passage that connected the center of the cave with the medical wing. The three seniors appeared running before stopping once they noticed the younger heroes standing there. Wally and Rocket were confused at first since they thought they still had a few minutes before the next round.

"Kid Flash, Rocket, move aside," ordered the Manhunter. Rocket had to smirk. So, the gig was up, huh? Maybe one of them went to Megan's room after all. Well, that didn't really matter much, since they were already in their positions.

The three heroes took a step back when the two grinning teenagers took their respective battling stances; they weren't going to let them through without a fight.

"Have it your way then," commented a now serious Martian as the other two seasoned heroes stood by him, ready for anything.

Rocket felt a drop of sweat fall down her brow. _"I wonder if they fell for the illusion," _she thought before Black Canary and the Martian jumped into action by trying to reach the door behind them, to which she reacted by placing a force field around it. _"Hook, line and sinker! That's one point for the team, zero for the league."_

* * *

Megan hadn't felt this hopeless in a long while…

As she and the others followed almost obediently the lead of Phantom and Fenton towards the outskirts of their mind, she felt like a total failure. Not only because they hadn't really been able to wake the real Phantom up, but because she had the feeling there was something she was letting pass her by, something important that she hadn't noticed before… but what could that be?

The guides had different reactions to their admittance of defeat. Fenton had basically given them the all so hated "I told you so", before offering them a really tender smile —she had never seen someone smile like that— that till some point was caring and understanding, like he didn't really blame them for giving up, like he knew they would… that, perhaps, made failing worse…

But… Phantom… he had seemed weirdly silent… his face imperturbable… almost like he was trying to hide something… almost like… Her head suddenly snapped up to look at the two guides' backs. Phantom… he had seemed almost disappointed… almost saddened…

But why? He was the first one that didn't want them to try… right?

No… that wasn't really right… something was off…

Phantom and Fenton knew so much about so many things, yet knew nothing about some other stuff… but they weren't supposed to know things like what that weird door was… and Fenton shouldn't have known about what was going to happen to Kaldur's arm…

She rubbed her forehead a little, feeling a small migraine developing. This mind was so full of twists, so full of traps and tricks… but that wasn't true either… Phantom's mind didn't take well to lies… he considered them cheating… cheating was wrong… unless you did it to protect others…

But… but… by hiding his feelings Phantom was simply lying to himself, that wasn't really…

Her eyes widened in realization.

Dissociation.

It was the perfect reason to lie to yourself within this mind, to lie for someone's protection was also valid when you considered yourself as someone else. So… if Fenton needed Phantom to do something Phantom wouldn't do… but he did it in order to protect Fenton…

But... still, something was missing…

Then she remembered one piece of information that she had considered trivial before. The wall. In his delirious state, Fenton even mentioned Phantom had once been outside… over the wall… but that shouldn't be possible, they weren't supposed to exist in that point of time…Fenton even said he considered the wall a 'ceiling' and said Phantom saw the wall as his 'floor'. The Wall had technically divided Phantom in Phantom and Fenton, but before this had happened there was one memory —a harmless one— about a more physical state of dissociation between Phantom and Fenton. That meant there were two sets of potential guides. And she had believed that her guides had been the ones of the younger memory that had slowly became blended with the second memory guides as Phantom had described… blended with the residues…

But that wasn't possible. Memories weren't being freed, they were being entrapped. So… what if the guides she had were actually the damaged and distorted memory of the dissociation that was being covered in the makeup of a more innocent memory? Maybe mixed with the harmless one by the connections between related memories? Phantom hadn't wanted to talk about their new appearance… but was looking older truly something new?

She remembered now…The hand that had saved her from falling was not a small teen's hand… the voice was not the still squeaky-changing-voice of a growing boy… the real Phantom had fused two memories from the beginning… and that changed things a lot… a lot more than she had wanted to believe…

And with her epiphany, she came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the cave.

"No."

Everyone turned to see the stone faced Martian as she refused to give another step.

"No? No, what Meg?" asked Fenton, looking at her weirdly.

"I'm not leaving. Not till we wake you up."

The team watched carefully as Fenton went from confused to annoyed.

"What do you mean you won't leave? Meg, we had a deal," he said as he passed a shivering hand through his raven hair.

"Still, I won't leave, because you haven't kept your part of the deal." She accused, narrowing her eyes at him.

"WHAT?! You went to the center, tried to wake me up and failed, my part is done. Yours is meant to happen now!" he declared, openly angry at the girl.

"This mind doesn't take lies very well Fenton, not even yours."

The boy blinked at her declaration wondering what she was talking about.

"I haven't lied. You got to try all you wanted didn't you?"

"Yes, we tried, but you interfered, you did by not offering us all the information you had."

The team turned to the boy wondering if that was true.

"I told you I don't know much—"

"LIES," she said angrily taking everyone by surprise. "You said you didn't understand things that well, but then you would talk about things like you knew what was going on. There are things you understand that you shouldn't cause if your theory about not remembering things related to other memories were true you would only remember your appearance and nothing more, YOU WERE LYING!"

The boy gritted his teeth in fury.

"AH! Why must you make things more difficult Meg? All I want is for you to let me die in peace, why is that so difficult to understand!?" he demanded, pulling his counterpart as he leaned forward.

"This mind doesn't take lies well Fenton, not even yours." She reminded him as she raised a finger to point at him, and then moved it towards Phantom's figure. "And that's why, every time you say you want to die, Phantom cringes in fear."

The ghost boy's eyes widened at her declaration as his partner looked at him with a frown.

"Phantom?" he asked… but the ghost teen just bit his lower lip and gazed away from him.

"Phantom is part of yourself, a part of yourself that desperately wants to keep you alive, the human mortal half. He might have been fighting to keep you alive for a good while, since he is the one that was left to deal with things in the cover, hoping you were safe within the wall. But you weren't… you were actually hurting worse… it backfired," the others seemed to be catching on her meaning as she continued to speak. "Seeing you suffer for so long has made him weak and finally, he allowed you to choose death, but still, he doesn't really want to let you go, therefore every time you talk about dying so nonchalantly he flinches in fear," she lowered her hand as Phantom send her a pleading gaze, one that clearly begged her to stop. "You two are part of one whole and both represent the current state of the real Phantom. You got mixed with a much more innocent memory to help you cope with the things you each carried so you would be useful to us. But the fact that Phantom is so devoted to keeping you safe, even to the point of lying about your knowledge, this is prove that you are not the younger memory but the older one of the separation of you both. A Fenton that is tired of the memories, a Phantom that wished to protect him with all he has. And overall, this reaction between you two just means that you really don't wish to die, you simply gave up hope that you'll ever have a chance to survive."

The human half turned to her, hate and rage covered his face.

"STOP IT! JUST FREAKING STOP IT! I don't want you here, why can't you just leave, every second you take, the longer you stay, it's dangerous! I don't want you to die with me!" he yelled panting harshly as blood trickled down his mouth.

"We don't have to, and you don't have to protect us. Please, if you just tell us what we could do to help you…"

"NO, JUST NO! Do you even understand what would take of you to do that? You will have to go through a lot of pain to succeed, you don't want to go through that, now do you?!" he demanded angrily.

The teens recoiled a little at the warning, but Megan held her stance.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked in a strong but slightly shivering voice. "Seriously Megan, did you like all those putrid words they whispered to your ears?" he asked, not stopping even when her eyes widened. "Or you, did you enjoy the feeling of being cut open as somebody messed around with your insides. Did it felt good to be touched in a way you never, not even in your worst nightmare, thought you could be touched?" Robin grasped harshly at his chest as he remembered those hands being inside. "And you archer, where you glad when you felt every single freaking vein and artery burn from the inside out?" the girl shivered slightly as he turned to Aqualad. "Or perhaps you enjoyed as they turned you into sushi, eh fish-dude?" the boy was gasping loudly when he finished, but still he managed to push away from his other half, barely able to hold himself up, yet he threw his hands up in despair. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Silence fell upon them, and for a few minutes the only sound was Fenton's harsh panting. All eyes on him, looking as he tried to keep a grip on his obviously aching wounds.

"I get it," Said Robin suddenly, his eyes closing from behind his lenses. Artemis came to stand by him.

"You are in pain… you went through way more torture than any human being should ever be placed in," she felt her eyes burn with restrained tears, seeing this damaged boy scream his pain and anger was almost too much for her. "We've been going through this the wrong way…" she mumbled.

Robin nodded as he took a step forward, making Fenton take a step back, almost in fear.

"You were in so much pain, but you fought hard to live. You even went as far as placing that wall and dissociating yourself only to survive… but when the pain didn't stop, you just got tired…" he lowered his head a little, looking at his chest's symbol. "It hurt so much you wished to die," and he closed his eyes again. "And I understand that. Had I gone through that for only a few more minutes, I would probably wish for death too… but…" he looked up and gave another step, making the boy back against the wall. "But it doesn't have to end this way! You don't have to let all the effort be thrown away, you don't have to die in agony embracing nothingness as if it was the only relief this world will offer you, not anymore, cause we are here now!"

Kaldur moved closer, careful not to make the boy feel threatened.

"Friend, we understand we were dealing with this wrong. We thought we had to convince the real Phantom to wake up… but now it's clear we have to make YOU understand this for us to be able to take the real you back." Fenton tried to glare at him but he was clearly more scared than anything as he tried to disappear against the wall, surprisingly enough, Phantom didn't move to help him even once. "If you could only give us a chance, we will face this, all of this," he resisted the urge to hold his 'throbbing' arm as he thought all that he was accepting to go through, but found he regret nothing he was saying. "We promise you, we will help you cure the wounds, no more will the people that hurt be able to cause you harm; we'll be the ones to protect you when you need it the most. And we'll work to make the pain go away, for as long as you may need it." Everyone nodded in agreement. Fenton could only slid down the wall, trembling hands trying to push him farther against it, their closeness making him weaker, forcing the 'lazy' boy to show just how damaged and broken he really was.

Megan saw Phantom simply watch in sadness as they faced his human half with all their determination.

A few minutes later, the now sad and lost human boy dared ask one question.

"Will you go to hell and back?" he asked, in a feeble voice.

"I'll go anywhere if by doing so I could get a chance to know the real you," answered the Martian with a tender smile.

"We all want the chance to know you," said Artemis.

"We want to be your friends. The ones here and the ones waiting for us outside," said the boy wonder with his cheeky grin.

The boy sighed deeply finally recovering a little of his composure, but then asked them in confusion: "Why?"

They looked at him carefully as he expanded.

"W-why won't you just stop and let things happen like they should?"

The teens look at each other.

"Cause you've waited too long for someone to do it. And I can't just let you go," came Megan's answer.

"We won't let anyone that needs our help alone," said Artemis.

"That's just how we are," said Robin.

"To protect and save the ones in need. It's our duty," added Kaldur with a serious expression.

Fenton's eyes widened in shock for an instant.

"Du…" he mumbled before a grin formed on his bleeding lips. Suddenly a strong laugh filled the place making the teens look at the boy as if he had finally snapped, everyone but Phantom, who looked at his counterpart with a saddened but knowing smile.

"DUTY! DUDE! You said duty!" the bleeding boy gasped as he laughed loudly, the pain in his body making him flinch with every breath and yet he could not contain himself. It took a good five minutes to actually calm himself down, all the while the young heroes watched completely lost of what to do. "Oh dude… you had to be heroes, didn't you?" the tired boy looked with half lidded eyes to his other self. "It's been like, a while since I heard something… so funny…" the boy then looked at his other half in a nostalgic way. "And last time I heard something like that… it came out of you didn't it?" the ghost boy moved to kneel by his human half. The raven haired teen gave one true smile to his partner. "Hey… Phantom… when did we change so much?"

The other placed his gloved hand gently over the stressed teen's shoulder.

"I'm not really sure," he answered truthfully. His doppelganger nodded tiredly as he turned to the expecting group.

The boy looked each of their faces, like he was trying to gouge their resolutions, all the while clutching his chest tightly trying to contain the growing pain he felt inside. Phantom helped him to remain stable and not fall to one side. Finally, Fenton chuckled a little before looking up to them.

"Ok, dude… I got it…" he smiled as leaned heavily against the frozen wall. "You really wanna help us out… who am I to stop ya?"

"Fenton?" the ghost looked confused at his companion. The hero team seemed surprised by his words as well.

"I'll give you a little help, just this once," then he chuckled slightly spitting a little of blood. "But only because I'm a sucker at giving people their 'second chances'."

* * *

That was all, a really long chapter, reeeeeeaaaaaaally loooooong one.

Well, I know it may be a little confusing, but mind works tend to be.

I hope you enjoyed this and the next chapter should be up around march 10.

So see you by then!


	13. The reason

Hope you enjoy this!

Not really much to say at the moment so…

Let's begin!

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapte Thirteen

The reason

* * *

Kaldur watched closely as the guide chuckled once more, the tense muscles in his body relaxing slightly against the walls.

"So… saving real me? Ok… I-I guess…" the teen pressed his right hand against his temple as he became dizzy. "Saving… saving… who were we saving?" his eyes lost all their light and, for instant, appeared dead, making the leader worry for him.

"Fenton," the ghostly counterpart called him softly to his ear as he shook the other boy's shoulder carefully, trying to hide his obvious anxiety at the condition of his friend, his worry was so contagious that Aqualad felt really bad for not knowing how to offer comfort, but at the moment all he could do was watch, because his team needed these two's help. After a few more seconds, the human teen blinked hard as his eyes slowly became focused once more in the group of heroes that stood behind his twin watching him with helpless expressions.

The boy chuckled, probably at the clearly upset faces everyone must have sported at that moment.

"Heroes… yeah, I remember now…" Fenton nodded to his uneasy ghost half trying to calm him down, before turning to the team. "Ok… first of all, I wanna leave something clear here. Yeah… we kinda are the mix from two memories of dissociation… yeah, we kinda avoided mentioning that little detail… but since you never asked and I never denied the other side of the story, I was never… and I repeat NEVER technically lying, you got that, Meg?" he said towards the martian girl.

Megan simply crossed her arms.

"That's just you making excuses," she pouted slightly, perhaps to make the atmosphere lose its tension.

"Yep!" agreed Fenton with a sly smirk. "But they are MY excuses and they fit my way of thinking, so deal with it, Miss-I-know-your-head-better-than-you!"

Megan could only groan at Fenton's childish attitude.

"Alright, so you were not 'technically' lying. If it'll make you happy, I'll accept that." She conceded, talking slowly as if he was nothing but a small kid.

"Damn right!" said the boy with a victorious smile that only lasted a few seconds for he began got another coughing fit. As he hacked violently, Kaldur attempt to get closer to help but only received a warning glare from Phantom—one that clearly said 'stay away'— before the ghost began to patiently pat his twin's back, calming his attack. When the human pulled his hand away from his mouth, it was covered in blood, and the atlantean could have sworn his bloodied fingers became see-through for a second.

"Damn… not good… not much time..." the teen raise his head to watch 'the wall' with some contempt in his hazy eyes before sighing. "Ok… no more games." He said before spitting some blood from his mouth. "Meg, if you all really wanna save lil' old me from t-this self appointed doom… you're gonna have to bring something for him…"

"Fenton… are you sure this is a good idea?" asked the restless ghost, his echoing voice shivering as he talked.

"Do you have a better one?" asked the boy, with a grimace. The other shook his head. "Then this is the best there is."

"What do we need to find?" asked Robin.

The human teen turned to the teen and smiled.

"The reason."

The leader was sure his fellow team members must have been as confused as him, because Fenton groaned in annoyance while he rubbed a hand over his face.

"So… remember how I told you… how the real us didn't really have a reason to live?" they all nodded. "Well, I kinda meant that l-literally," the boy turned to his counterpart and asked almost in a whisper: "the word is 'literally'… right?" the ghost teen nodded. "Good… now, remember how I said we packed every memory and placed them in those doors? … well… that also included our reason… for you see, no one can live without a reason, everybody has one, be it big or small, important or unimportant… you always have something you live for… and w-when you lose sight of that something…"

"You begin to wish for death," completed Artemis, and they all understood that meaning clearly. The damaged guide looked at them and nodded slowly.

"Yeah… there is no point in living like that…" he mumbled looking at his dirty hands. The complete loss that emanated from his figure was even worse than that of a person that just lost his home or somebody important to them; it was a complete sense of nothingness, a void as deep as the abysm in the bottom of the sea.

Taking a deep breath, the leader decided to ask the question that he knew the others wished to ask, but that also made him pretty uneasy inside.

"If Phantom's reason to live is trapped inside one of the doors, do we need to search for the one in which this memory is being held in?"

The human boy immediately threw the leader one look that clearly said he thought the man was either crazy or stupid, which made the atlantean look away with a small blush.

"Dude… you crazy? Like… if you were to do that, you'll take forever, and by the time you get half way through you'll probably be even more unstable than me… and that's saying a lot," the teen waved a hand dismissing the idea. "No, you won't have to do that. A-actually, you don't have to 'search' for something… you just have to 'get' it for the original…" half lidded eyes looked away from them as a forlorn expression appeared on his face. "After all… we do know where that door is."

The team looked at him for a moment, startled by his confession.

"Wait… if you know, then why haven't you opened that door already?" asked a baffled Artemis.

The guides sighed at the same time.

"**We did… many times. We just didn't understand the meaning of what was behind that door."**

The heroes shared a look between each other before Megan asked the two halves.

"What do you mean?"

Time it was Phantom who answered.

"We mean that the content of that memory is so distorted that the original can no longer understand the meaning behind it. And we, as representations of his psyche, can't either." The ghost closed his eyes as his counterpart seemed to drift into another dizzy spell. "Imagine it. 'The reason' is the memory you recall when you truly need strength to stand against adversities, or in our original's case: it was the only thing he had left to make his existence bearable. So he latched into that memory with all his might, desperately trying to keep it close. But the torture just got worse and worse, and his mind slowly lost its balance, making memories cloud each other, fuse and mingle. And… in a given moment, when everything became too much, that memory was buried beneath his many other bad ones, and pushed too far out of our reach. Behind that door, there is not only the 'reason', but also the memory of the time we finally broke."

"Yeeeaahhh…" the wobbly human teen held his head as if he were to be having one heck of a hangover. "We can't understand that reason anymore cause the pain blurs it up for us… so we need YOU to understand it for us." He said, pointing at them with his shivering hand.

"You want US to understand YOUR memory?" asked a bewildered Robin. If the owner wasn't able to do it, how where they supposed to?

"Well, you wanted me to tell you how you c-could h-help, didn't you? Well d-dude, that's the only way I know how…" Fenton said as the hand holding his head became clearly see-through, making the heroes look at it with surprise. "And as you can clearly see here… we don't have all the time in the world."

"We get the need to act hastily, but we don't understand how we are supposed to interpret another person's memory." Explained the confused atlantean.

The tired teen laughed softly at his comment.

"Well dude… not like I know how to either… everything I just said sounds about totally crazy to me too… but this is the only help I can give ya… Besides, your little new 'traumatic experiences' kinda were from you interpr-retting my memories as yours… you got the feelings and the thoughts… perhaps you just have to do that? Jump in the memory and try to see things through your own eyes? You know? Give it your best shot…" the boy stopped for a second before he sighed. "Or you could r-reconsider and leave now that you still can… your choice."

The friends looked at each other, almost as if gouging the determination in each of their comrades to know if they would act as team on this, even if the result could potentially be disastrous to them all. A few seconds later, they nodded. Kaldur looked at the two guides on the floor, Phantom looking at him with expectative as Fenton shivered slightly from his exhaustion.

"We'll do our best."

The human looked at him and gave him a small smile as he nodded.

"Ok dude… whatever you say," then he placed a hand over his worried counterpart's shoulder and gave him a friendly pat on it. "Phantom, you guide them there. Be sure to keep them alive, k buddy?"

The goofy smile the boy had as he said this was the complete opposite to the utter shock his ghostly twin now sported, and had the human's comment not taken him aback as much as it did to the ghost half, Kaldur would have laughed.

"Grumbling Specters, Fenton!"

"Grumbling… s-specters?" said the boy barely containing his amusement. "Easy with the l-language, Phantom… that was completely uncalled for…" Fenton chuckled as his partner frowned at him.

"You can't possibly be suggesting that I leave you here!" exclaimed Phantom.

"I do believe that's what I'm sugg-esting." Answered Fenton.

One could almost see vapor coming out from the ghost's ears… or perhaps it was just that strange glowing aura's heat as it became even brighter.

"I refuse! I will not do it! I shall not go anywhere if you don't come too!" said the ghost as he stubbornly shook his counterpart's shoulders.

"Dude! First of all: OUCH!" growled the human as he pushed the ghost a little so he would stop recklessly hurting his vulnerable half. "Second, seriously… like, have you even looked at me? You see me here, barely sitting and you think I will really make it all the way to that door?" Kaldur could see the ghost shivering at being chastised by his mortal half, but his eyes soon turned fierce and decided as he stubbornly sat up and crossed his arms.

"I will not leave my better half behind."

The team watched as the two guides seemed to have engaged in a battle of wills, no one wavering in the least. Megan tried to say something, but the leader soon placed his hand on her shoulder shaking his head. Kaldur knew that the human half was right. The boy wouldn't make it to the other door, and they didn't have much time. It was a terrible decision, for he himself would never leave a member of his team behind but the priority was saving the real Phantom, and for that they would need a guide that could move with them. But overall, it wasn't really their place to interfere in this discussion, the two guides were a team themselves, this was their decision, not a place for his team to intervene. Looking as his teammates, Kaldur make sure they understood this.

"Dude… the only way for out REAL human half to survive is if by some miracle this bunch of hero-wannabes gets the right message back to him," the team frowned at the declaration but Fenton didn't really seem to care. "But they need to do it before HE dies. We don't have much time, my leg barely works and being completely honest dude, I'm already fading away."

The atlantean saw the ghost half trembling in frustration as he bit his lower lip.

"I… I don't want to lose you…" he mumbled with barely contained grief, but this just made his counterpart laugh, not a mean kind of laugh, just a heartfelt laugh.

"Phantom… we always knew I was going to disappear first. It was like totally obvious, you know?" a tender expression appeared on his tired face as his heavy eyelids closed. "But you are still able to continue, you can take them there, and right now, we need you to do that." When those eyes finally opened once more, they were glowing green.

"W-what… what are you doing?" asked the baffled ghost half as his mortal half touched him with a glowing hand. "Stop it!" he demanded as his aura shined green for a second. When it went away, Fenton was left gasping loudly as heavy droplets of sweat fell down his brow.

"Just… g-giving y-ou.. b-back your energy…" The team watched with saddened expressions as the figure of the teen fizzled like a broken hologram would, coming in and out of focus as he tried to control his breath.

"Why are you doing this?!" beseeched the ghost teen, so obviously close to despair.

But the human guide ignored him and turned to a worried Megan.

"M-meg… Phantom… he will guide you… y-you must.. f-follow him fast…" she nodded as Kaldur saw the beginnings of small tears in the corners of her eyes, and he would bet that the others also felt just as helpless as she did at the moment.

"Don't you dare ignore me, human!" growled Phantom.

"Aye, aye… capn'…" joked the boy as he placed a shivering hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll be the… e-extra life… i-if I don't move… surely I'll last a little l-longer…" he then faced his angry and fearful counterpart. "Y-you must take… advanta-ge of that… get them as far as you can… before the weight falls all over you…"

"Why are you doing this…?" Phantom whispered as his voice broke in sadness.

"Cause we must?" answered the human boy. "Cause…" he stopped for a second and laughed a little. "It's our duty?" and even Phantom had to smile as the boy chuckled at his own childish joke. "Don' worry, we are part of t-the same… memory… when you die… we'll be together again…" he offered, but that didn't seem to be enough for the other half as his smile disappeared to be replaced by a frown. "Oh! Yeah… I-I… have somethin' for you…"

Aqualad watched with great interest as the human moved a hand to get something from behind his back, only to make it appear out of thin air as he presented it to his friend: a white piece of cloth.

Phantom's eyes widened as he looked startled at the clothing piece. Everyone else wondered what that white material could mean to him.

"C-congrats… you get your c-cape back," said the boy with a goofy grin.

Phantom's lips moved, but no sound came from him, he appeared to be completely astonished.

"H-here… let me help you…" with great difficulty, the boy moved the piece of clothing till it covered his doppelganger's back and proceeded to tie a small knot in the front. "T-here," he said, that silly smile still on his face.

Kaldur watched in amazement as the soft material was slowly covered by the glowing aura of the ghost teen and began to bellow softly with a none existing gust of air. The perplexed guide took hold of it, as if he were to be feeling the texture through his gloves, his face filling with some unexplainable kind of joy before coming to a sudden halt. Phantom turned to his other half with guilt written all over in his expression.

"Fenton, I…" the white haired boy took a deep breath before getting the courage to continue. "I'm really sorry… I-I don't have your hat anymore…" he tried to look away; ashamed of whatever it was he felt he did wrong. "I think I lost it… I'm really sorry."

But the other boy just looked at him with compassionate eyes before chuckling softly.

"Nah… no worries d-dude…" he said slowly. "B-besides… it is too late for me to be… a n-normal guy ag-gain…" then he took hold of the soft material of the blanket with utmost care. "B-but perhaps… it's not too late for you to be a hero…" the ghost looked at his mortal friend as the boy simply kept smiling at him. "So, do us a favor… be the h-hero you always… wanted to be… the one we need r-right now… that'll make it up for my lost hat…"

As he watched them interact, Kaldur wondered about this last statement. Phantom was a hero… according to Fenton… was that true? Could, perhaps, the real Phantom be a fellow hero? But something was clear, the moment his other half gave 'permission' to the ghost to be a 'hero' something in the guide changed. His eyes became steeled with determination and all signs of doubt disappeared. The ghost took Fenton's still working hand and grasped it tightly as he nodded in acceptance.

"G-good… then off you go," said the human before closing his heavy lids and relaxing against the wall.

The ghost stood up, nodding at his friend once more in a small sign of goodbye, and turned to face their team, his eyes shining brightly.

"Come on, follow me." His voice was full of power and left no openings for discussion. The voice of a leader. Kaldur immediately nodded at him, and looked at his team to be sure everyone would follow. They gave one last look at the tired form of their former guide before reluctantly following the ghost down the hall.

Phantom stood in between two doors and turned to them once more.

"From here on, you'll be running. Don't worry about anything in your way. I'll make sure nothing happens to you, so just focus on moving on." They felt tempted to look behind once more to the damaged Fenton, not used to leaving anyone behind. "If you care for him, them make this be worth our while." And they were given no more choices. They nodded at their only guide.

Letting his aura flare for an instant, the ghost separated himself from the floor, floating slightly as he pointed a glowing hand to the wall, creating a new passage.

"Ready?" he asked them and they nodded. "GO!"

And they all began running down the hall as Phantom flew ahead of them to keep them safe, leaving behind the still smiling human half as shadows slowly crawled around his form.

* * *

He really couldn't believe he was fighting with Megan's uncle just to avoid him from getting to her. The idea had a poetic rang to it, like a romantic novel, except he wasn't in love with Megan, and he didn't like to read romance either, so… where the heck did that comparison came from?

Wally shook his head as he stopped another one of Manhunter's attempts to past him. This was turning to be one awfully complicated game of 'get the flag'. Each senior seemed to be trying to get to the door of the infirmary without having to actually engage the person standing in their way; where as KF and Rocket pushed and kept them away, trying at the same time not to cause any real damage to their seniors. It was turning to be ridiculous.

"Just move out of the way, we are trying to help your teammates," explained Canary as she attempt to pull Rocket's feet from under her with a kick. The girl jumped in time to avoid the attack and pushed the elder away with a shield.

"We won't move. Our friends are helping someone and we must help them succeed." She declared strengthening her shield as Canary tried to break through it.

"Don't you understand, they are all in great danger," said the Martian as he turned invisible.

Wally looked around himself and for an instant was glad to know the alien hero wouldn't use his mind to stop them, simply because he wouldn't risk damaging their heads with a psychic attack. That was one huge relief.

"We know," said the speedster as he closed his eyes and concentrated the way Canary taught them to do when your opponent wasn't visible or moved too fast. "But we all took a decision and we'll stand by it!" he reacted in time to protect himself from a punch the adult was trying to use to knock him out. Taking the momentum, the teen pulled on the senior's arm to throw him away, but at the last second the Martian became intangible, escaping his grasp and hiding once more. The boy groaned at his luck, before yelping when his feet were kicked from under him, making him fall. A shield materialized around him as the Martian reappeared ready to punch him. Wally stood as the ripples of the attack expanded around the energy field. Turning slightly, he saw Rocket trying to keep Canary away as well as keeping him from the martian's attacks.

The two team members shared a look before nodding. The field disappeared from around Kid Flash's form and he race towards the distracted Canary, taking her by surprise and pushing her away from the door. Rocket then directed her whole attention to the martian that she had just trapped in a force field.

Wally had little time to contemplate Rocket's good job at imprisoning her opponent, for Canary threw a really dangerous punch his way. That would have knocked him out if it had hit, and yet he knew the woman was going easy on him, because if she was truly serious about defeating him, she could easily use her cry, which more than probably would be enough to stop him if he wasn't careful. He decided not to think much about it and began evading all her attacks, slowly moving their battle away from the door, almost as if they were dancing in circles around a ball room.

A soft cry of surprise made him turn in confusion as he noticed that the martian had used his mental abilities to cause some damage to Rocket's belt. The girl was trying to make it work as the martian went invisible once more and ran to the door. He would have gone to help, but in that instant, he noticed a foot coming in the direction of his head, making him move to the side just in time, barely getting grazed by his teacher's hill. "Wow," he exclaimed in surprise as he hold his stinging cheek.

As he turned back to see Rocket, he noticed that a weird light came from the girls belt, and he could almost swear he heard some strange words in the air. And instant later, Rocket threw a new force field around the door.

"Yes!" Wally exclaimed, avoiding the punch send his way by his senior. _"Way to go, Zatanna!"_ he thought. But their little victory was short lived for he noticed for the first time someone they had been ignoring.

"J'onn, Canary, stop your attacks," said the android coming from the shadows of a tunnel where he had been hiding in since the others began their fight. "You are being deceived. That is not the real door to the infirmary, that one is." He explained pointing to another entrance three doors down from where they were. "There is an illusion over it, a strong one that for an instant confused my sensors, but now it is clear."

It took only a second after Tornado said this for the martian to disappear from sight.

"Damn!" growled Wally as he turned to run to the real door, but in his distraction he was trapped as Canary took him in a lock, sliding her arms under his armpits and intertwining her hands behind his head. The speedster tried to struggle, but the heroine had a strong hold on him. He tried to call for some assistance but to his dismay, Tornado had Rocket in a very similar position.

The boy continued to struggle in the death hold of his teacher, till they all heard a groan of pain coming from the other side of the room, and saw the martian —visible once more— as he backed away from what appeared to be a huge wall of fire advancing his way. The Manhunter shied away from the element in fear of one of his weaknesses, only to have a very energetic Kryptonian jump on him through the 'fire', proving it to be only an illusion. The Martian was pushed away as Conner stood straight cracking his knuckles.

"I hate waiting," he said giving a grin to his friends. Noticing the distraction, Wally took the chance to maneuver his feet around Canary's and made her lose her balance for an instant, forcing her to let him go. Rocket on her part, created a shield around tornado and herself, before pushing the android against one of the energy walls with all her might, making his grip to loosen enough for her to escape.

"Superboy. Why are you allowing this?" asked the consternated martian as he slowly got back on his feet. "Don't you care about what could happen to Megan?"

"I do, but I respect her decision," he said before raising his hands, ready for battle. "And I also want to help Phantom get better."

The martian's eyes turned into small slits as his anger became almost palpable.

"Then I shall move you out of the way." He said deadly serious.

And with this war declaration of war, the three leaguers and the four teammates began their fight.

* * *

It was the first time since they had run from that falling corridor that they had to actually move so fast. When their guide had said they weren't going to go wasting any more time, he had really meant it. The ghost glided from side to side of the maze, creating new passages every few minutes. As he moved, the light of his bright aura chased away the scary shadows in the corners, making them retreat into their crevices. The teenagers, that had been slightly uncomfortable with the permanent threat of the doors around them, soon found out that the ghost wouldn't let them even stop from their fear. Each time a door trembled or shivered, the guide will throw a shield or weird green goo-like stuff, forcing them to remain closed long enough for the team to leave the place.

And, for the first time since they had entered that maze, they felt truly safe. Everything could be falling to pieces, but they knew Phantom was keeping them away from danger, and for that they were grateful.

"Hurry, the mental lane won't last for long," said the guide as he stopped to open another path. The walls around them began shaking. "Quick, inside," he ordered them and no one complained even once.

Unfortunately, the passage they entered was in worse condition than the last one they had been in, so pieces of the ceiling were already caving in.

"Robin!" screamed Artemis seeing his friend in the way of a piece of debris. The boy wonder gasped as he kneeled in an attempt to avoid it. But it never hit.

"Stop scaring yourselves about nonsense, I already told you I'll handle this, you just have to keep on running!" demanded the ghost, making the teens shiver with the drop of temperature that ensued his command. Phantom extended a hand and placed it against a wall, making a strange green glow extend over the surface. "RUN!" he ordered. "All the way down that passage to the right!" he said as he seemed to concentrate in his glowing hand. Impressively, the walls around them stopped breaking, almost as if their guide had applied a shield over each wall keeping everything in place. "I SAID RUN YOU STUPID MORTALS!" and they did, never turning back, they ran and ran, down the long passage and to the right, where things seemed to be in a better condition.

Gasping from the exhaustion of the long stretch they had been running in and the fear that they had to overcome to go through it, they took a pause to recover their breath as they waited for their guide to come after them. But after a minute, all they heard was the horrible sound that was signed that a part of the memory lane had collapsed. After another minute, a weird sensation seemed to have expanded itself around the glacial cave. Something was amiss… and the temperature began to penetrate them to the bone. Shivering, they waited and waited, but their ghost guide didn't appear. Scared of the possibility of something having happened to their 'friend' they looked at each other in worry.

"S-should we go see if he's ok?" asked Megan.

Kaldur thought about it for a second before nodding.

"I… I'll go look…

"D-don't need to…" came a slightly rough voice from the passage they had escaped from. A fit of coughing was heard after it as their guide basically crawled from within the debris, phasing through the materials as he panted clutching at his stomach, green liquid oozing from his side.

"Phantom!" Megan ran to his side in an instant for he seemed to be really hurt. But when she tried to touch him, he growled and pushed her away from him roughly.

"Don't touch me, human," he said with a scowl, making her gasp.

"I… I'm not a…" she tried to say in her defense as her friends came to help her up, worried by this strange reaction.

"You look like one. That's all I need," he said as his left hand touched his forehead. Megan saw his eyes seemed lost, glazed and confused… but there was something there as well, something feral, and threatening. Something wasn't right with him.

"P-Phantom?" asked Artemis startled by his weird reaction, though now that she thought of it, none of them had actually had any physical contact with either guide since they met them, not even in a friendly pat. "Are you, ok?" she asked hoping he would react better if they kept their distance.

The ghost teen blinked a few times and shook his head. For a second his eyes glowed dangerously at them before they finally came back into focus.

"I… I-I'm sorry," he said as he slowly pushed himself up, his wound bleeding that weird liquid as he straightened himself. "I… I just don't like humans touching me."

"B-but… but Fenton is a human… isn't he?" asked the boy wonder, confused by his declaration.

At the mention of his human half the boy cringed and leaned against the wall, biting his lower lip so hard he draw green blood.

"Phantom?" asked Megan, careful to remain away, respecting that her current appearance made him annoyed.

"We better hurry," he said after spitting some of the liquid that covered his mouth, and holding his 'cape' close to his body. "I won't last for long and we are still three shortcuts away."

"Phantom?" asked the Martian once more.

The boy walked back to the front of the group holding his side with one hand, and the cape with the other, not giving her another glance. "Come on," he ordered them.

"Phantom… what is wrong?" asked the leader raising a hand in an unconscious reaction to grasp for the other teen. But before he could Phantom rounded on them seething as his eyes shined brightly.

"I SAID DON'T FREAKING TOUCH ME," he bellowed at them, making the four heroes shrank away in fear. Something in those green eyes promised them horror beyond imagination if they even so dared to stand against him. It took the ghost a few seconds before shaking his head again as his hand covered his eyes in frustration. "I-I'm sorry… I just… it's…" he let out a deep sigh as he turned his back on them. "Sorry guys… it's just that Fenton's gone…" the heroes looked at him in confusion. "You know? As in… he's 'dead'… well, as dead as one of us can get at least… perhaps you could say he simply doesn't exist anymore…"

"Fenton… is gone?" asked Megan almost disbelieving.

"His energy ran out. So that piece of our memory returned to the original… but the guide created from the memory… my other half…" they saw how as he said that his hands formed tight fists; his whole back shivering for a second before he straightened once more. "Forget it. Don't mind that at all. Now that one of the scapegoats is gone we don't have much time, I must open passages but soon the weight of all this will crash upon my remaining reserves and I won't be able to help you at all. We must move now!"

And no one dared say anything more. They just followed as he led them back down the hall, droplets of fluorescent blood making a small trail in their way, like a sick imitation of Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs.

* * *

The last thing the Dark knight expected to find when he went back to the mount to speak with Kaldur and Robin was a full out brawl between team members and three leaguers. Although he was glad that till some point the heroes were controlling themselves to avoid turning this into carnage, it was still a pretty annoyingly shameful scene. Sighing in anger, he came to the decision that he was the one that should remember them the limits.

"What is going on in here?" he said, his voice strong but still controlled, cutting through the mayhem with its authority like a hot knife on butter. Everyone seemed to freeze as he simply walked to the center of the room, analyzing the situation. Quickly, he asserted that everyone seemed to try to either reach the infirmary or keep the others away. So there must have been something wrong in there, and the lack of his young partner in the scene wasn't a good sign either. "So? Anyone that would explain this?" he asked narrowing his eyes to each of them.

"Yes," said tornado, as he was currently trapped inside one of Rocket's force fields. "The team disregarded the orders from the League to leave the situation of the young Phantom to us. They went inside his room and Megan proceeded to connect four of their minds with the comatose boy in order to try and help him. This four are: Aqualad, Artemis, Robin and herself. While apparently, these young ones were left behind to stop us from getting inside. Since this was dangerous, we tried to enter, but they have been really stubborn in their positions, so we had to resort to a less pacifist approach." The robot stopped for an instant as everyone present seemed to either blush or look away as the vigilante inspected them with judging eyes. "That, Batman, is about everything that has been happening here."

The Dark Knight sighed as he rubbed his right temple at the exhaustion this whole situation was bringing him. He then turned to Conner, who was standing by the side, a little away from Martian Manhunter.

"Was this the team's decision?" he asked seriously, giving each a look.

They all nodded.

"We took a decision as a team. Each knowing the consequences." Said Rocket, taking the Batman by surprise. It appears that she was the appointed leader this time around. Looking at the other teenagers, he couldn't help but internally congratulate the wise decision. He nodded to her and turned to J'onn, who was truly upset with the situation, and Batman couldn't blame him.

"J'onn, would you be able to bring them back if you enter that room?" he asked, seeing the teenagers tense.

The Martian looked at his friend, obviously asking him to help him get to his niece.

"I would be able to bring Megan's consciousness closer to the outside of Phantom's mind, since this time there are other minds by her side, we might succeed in freeing them."

The vigilante nodded to his answer and turned back to the teens.

"We are going in." he said, not leaving place for questions. But the teenagers did not back down.

"We are not moving," declared an angered Conner.

They didn't waver, they didn't have doubts. Batman couldn't help being proud, this was a whole different reaction from the sad denial he had seen in then many hours ago. They were growing and learning fast. So he decided to be clearer for their sakes.

"I only wish to see the condition everyone is in. No one will interfere." The adults looked at him in confusion while the teens could only relax.

"Batman?" asked J'onn, startled by his decision.

"They are not children anymore J'onn, they are entitled to their own decisions," the Martian could see that his friend was aware of the danger this represented not only for the team but particularly for Batman's own charge. Accepting the vigilante's impartial view, he could only nod. The dark knight turned to the teens and looked at them closely. "But still, you must understand that as your fellow comrades, we can't simply allow you to do as you please," making them tense a little at the strength he spoke with. "We shall stand-by for now, but only for another ten minutes. Once the time runs out, we'll bring them back."

The four members that were left of the team looked at each other, thinking of this proposition. Till some point, ten minutes might have been more than they would have been able to stall their seniors if things had continued the way they were. So this was actually beneficial for all of them. Turning back to the dark hero, Rocket nodded her head, taking his word of staying on the side till the time run out.

Slowly, team members and leaguers, walked side by side to the infirmary door.

* * *

"T-that… that one over there…" said the guide as he pointed to a door that had his glowing symbol over it. The team watched between that door and their broken guide. Phantom had done his best to bring them at top speed, and the result was his complete deterioration. The ghost leaned heavily against a wall, as he slowly slid down into a sitting position, just as his other half had been when they left him alone in that dark tunnel. "Now… all you have to do is enter… and hope you make it out."

"Thank you, for guiding us till this point, Phantom." Said the leader, nodding at his tired figure.

The ghost boy sneered at him before giving a weird smile. "Nah… don't thank me. It was Fenton who made me promise to do it. And I only did it for his sake."

"Even so… we are thankful." said the boy wonder.

"You took a lot of damage to bring us here, so you deserve our thanks too." Added Artemis.

The guide scoffed at their answer.

"Whatever." He said as he pointed to another tunnel that had just appeared to the left side of the door. "If you do get out of there, and are still able to, take t-that tunnel… all the way till the end. I-It´ll take you back to the center… and if you are lucky and got the message right, perhaps you'll get to wake the real me up."

"Thank you," said the atlantean once more, making the boy growl at him.

"Stop thanking me… instead of that… promise me something." Said the guide looking at them through half lidded eyes.

"Whatever you wish, if it is in our capabilities to fulfill it." Answered Kaldur.

"Keep your promise," he said as they looked at him in confusion for an instant as his eyes became lost. "Please, whatever you decide after going in there… if you are really going to play heroes and help us… then you have to help us all the way, regardless of the hardships you cannot quit halfway, cause if you do, if you leave us half crippled, then you'll be crueler than the humans that hurt us in the first place…" Phantom looked at them with pleading glazed eyes. "And if you are going to be so cruel, please… better let us die now, while we still can." The boy lowered his head, as his shoulders shook. "Don't you dare give us hope just to take it back." He said as he placed a hand on his face, covering his right eye. "Please… I don't want to lose my other half again… not again…"

The group was taken aback by this heartfelt petition, and they couldn't help but understand that even if they succeeded in waking the real Phantom up, he will still need time and help to get better… because no one could have gone through the things he went through without being permanently marked. Leaving him like that would, indeed, be crueler than just letting him die.

"We will help you, all the way till you are healed." Said the martian girl as she kneeled by the ghost's side, keeping a cautious distance to not bother him much.

"She is right. We'll all work to make you get better, you'll see." Exclaimed Robin, to which the others agreed.

Phantom simply chuckled in amusement.

"Silly mortals… so naïve… so full of yourselves…" he smiled softly. "So much like we used to be…"

The teens simply smiled back at him, feeling they had somehow alleviated his load.

"Alright… just move on. Go in there already," groaned the ghost teen. "Oh yeah… I must say goodbye now. It's very probable I won't last till you get out."

"What?" asked Artemis.

"You… you are also going to…?" began Robin but was stopped when he saw their guide raise his hand to them, showing them how it came in and out of focus. Some parts of his body becoming see-through as well. The boy wonder's shoulders slumped in sadness, knowing that they were going to lose their other friend/guide.

"Don't worry, it's like Fenton said… we were supposed to end this way." He said with a small smile, that didn't really make it better for them at all. "Now just go… there's not much time left."

"I…" came Megan's sad voice, making them turn to her, still kneeling by Phantom's side. She sent a meaningful look to her friends and they seemed to understand what she was going to say. "I will stay with Phantom. And help you when you come back."

The ghost boy looked at her with clear surprise, not anger or annoyance, just simple honest surprise.

"Megan?"

"I'm not leaving you alone… I can't believe we left Fenton behind, but I won't leave you too." She said, a sad and stubborn grimace in her face.

"Megan…" mumbled the ghost, before he smiled at her tenderly. "You are too sincere with your feelings… did you know that?"

"That's just how she is." Said the boy wonder with his cheeky grin.

"Yeah, that's Megan for you." Agreed the archer. "But she is right, besides, she might be able to wake us from any kind of fearful stupor we might find ourselves in, don't you think?"

Kaldur crossed his arms. "Yes, it'll be best if we don't go all at the same time. Megan, we count on you."

The girl nodded with determination. "Yes."

"Well, then… let's go!" exclaimed the boy wonder, nervous that he may lose his energetic disposition to the fear that he had for the door if he waited longer.

The others turned, thanking their guide once more and waving at Megan, before walking to the door and opening it, this time willingly, only to be covered in the same white light they had come to fear.

* * *

There was a lot of noise. And there was a lot of light.

His senses were all overcome by such a myriad of stimuli that he was unable to grasp into one long enough to interpret it. And then… there was the pain. His body shivered so hard against something cold and his fingers didn't answer to his commands. Long painful signals came from many different places, so many he didn't really know where he was being hurt.

His lungs felt as if they were about to collapse, and his stomach was so unstable he could feel bile coming up his throat. He had lost contact with parts of his body, as if they weren't there anymore, yet he could feel pain from their ghosts.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted all to end, just to be merciful and end…

Yet… Somewhere, somehow… as he went through this sensorial overload, his mind tried to think of something, anything to make this more bearable. Anything… but as he tried his best to do so, all he got was static, blurry figures and unintelligible sounds… the only thing he could actually think of was all this pain, and all this noise, and all this light. But there must be something else… something he wanted to think of… where was that something… why wasn't it there… so much noise… so much noise…

It was then that Kaldur remembered this was not really him hearing, or seeing, or feeling. It was Phantom… and perhaps it was because he had already gone through this before, or because the guides kept repeating to them that they were not really the ones in pain, but this time around it was easier to notice the difference. And almost like a mystic revelation, the moment he noticed this, it was as if he was transported from a first person view into a third person one. As if he was watching things unfold, the same view as he had before, but this time, he was looking at it detached from it, not inside of it, like watching a movie written in first person.

Megan had told them before that they had been so deeply lost in the pain that they ignored everything else around them, so, perhaps, that also applied from within. And the young atlantean, remembering his mission, willingly touched the screen trying as he might to look within that view, to that which was so close and yet so far from the grasp of the tormented creature looking into the light.

He focused on anything, anything that wasn't hard, and cold and painful… anything… and he wouldn't stop till he finds it.

* * *

"So you are a martian?" asked the 'dying' guide with curious eyes. Megan nodded as she looked at him, clearly wishing she could touch him, at least to give him some comfort.

The boy chuckled.

"I'm s-sorry Megan… I know you want to help… but we really can't tolerate humans touching us…" he said with a smile.

"But I took your hand in the real world." She said, disappointed that she couldn't help.

"That… was only because we gave up… we didn't mind you touching us… cause we could care less if you tried to harm us," he turned sheepish when he noticed his comment had made her even more upset. "Sorry… I know it sounds bad."

"No. It's ok," she said coming to terms with it. "You have a good reason to be scared."

"Yeah… scared…" he said looking to the side at the closed door. "Wonder if your friends were able to detach themselves f-from the memory… that would be really h-helpful to their mission," he said, gasping slightly as his body turned see-through for an instant.

"I'm sure they'll be able to. They already have some experience." She said, looking to the door as well. Then she turned back to him and asked with a small smile. "Hey… can you share something with me?"

He looked at her quizzically.

"What would that be?"

"Well, what is the whole deal with the 'hat' and the 'cape' thing? If it's not too personal that is." She said taking a piece of her hair in her hands in nervousness.

The boy looked at her for a moment before he laughed at her expression. She simply pouted at him in annoyance.

"You really remind me of someone… you know?" he said with a real smile, making her wonder who he was talking about. "Now, if only I could remember I would surely tell you who." She pouted again making him chuckle. "Ok… about the hat and the cape? Well… perhaps it's a lot about the antics of our younger memory's entities… but you see… I had this dashingly pure white cape… and Fenton had this silly old ha—" and he proceeded to share with her a little about what had happened with those two accessories to make them bother each other so much.

* * *

Robin held tightly to the memory, trying as he might to push all the negative thoughts aside, because somewhere beneath it all, he had felt it. There was something, a little piece of something really warm, really welcoming. It was like finding a warm blanket in the middle of a snowstorm, after having run through yards of ice and snow biting into your skin, and to be completely honest, though he was more detached than he had been in the first memory, he was really desperate to have something warm in his grasp.

Delving deeper, he soon noticed that the only way he'll get to that place was to fully enter the memory again, and he found himself in a conflict since he knew he could easily get lost from there. But knowing that he had to touch that little piece of warmth in order to actually succeed, he steeled himself. "I know who I am, I know I'm not Phantom and this is not my pain," he said to himself in a mantra as he let go from the security of the third person view, delving into the light. And thought the ice cold fear and the frostbitten pain tried to latch at him, he still went on, never taking a moment to stop. Too much had been sacrificed to let them have this chance and he wasn't backing out. His hand held to the front, trying to grasp that small sphere, and just when he thought he would drown, he finally touched it.

And god, what an amazing feeling soon spread around him. All the pain, all the cold, all the fear, everything shied away from him as he slowly descended into darkness, and that —strangely enough— made him feel safer than the light did.

"Well done dude!" said a young voice, somewhere in the dark.

The boy wonder turned to look for the owner of that friendly voice.

"You even beat your record. Man, you are getting good at this," that voice said, it was full of care and appreciation. "But you know ###, you really need to rest a little longer next time. No, I'm not taking her side; I'm just saying that, well… I worry about you dude, I don't want you getting hurt for falling asleep in the middle of patrol, you know?" he felt that warmth, this time coming from within his heart. Robin didn't know who this person was, but he knew this kind of feeling, this deep rooted care for a friend, for someone that knew you so well it was sometimes annoying and/or scary. But you wouldn't change it for nothing. "I know, how about we go get something to eat and hit the hay for the night? Cause I'm not sure about you, but I already missed my 7 o'clock feeding, and man! Am I starving!"

Robin couldn't help but smile; yeah he knew that feeling very well. It was the feeling of someone growing with you and being such a close friend that it would only make sense to call him your brother rather than your friend. It was the feeling he got from his best friend, every time Wally made a fuss over him or joked about getting something to eat.

"Wally," he mumbled at the thought. But instead his voice was covered by another one, this one held just as much happiness as his, and he knew he had heard it somewhere.

"**Tucker."**

And as the shadows covered him, slowly pushing him away, Robin couldn't help but grin and salute at the nothingness. Message received.

* * *

The small ball of light she had touched had left her in a room covered in shadows, yet she felt strangely annoyed instead of scared. Even when a mysterious voice came, she just couldn't help but feel tired, thought perhaps a little part of her was feeling truly grateful.

"I can't believe it. Did you really walk all the way home on that leg?!" exclaimed a girl's voice, full of angry worry as she growled in frustration. "And don't you give me that crap Mr. I know when you are lying, you are a terrible liar!" Artemis felt the annoyance spike a little at this declaration, but she also felt the need to calm this person down, because she really cared for him, and he didn't want her to worry. "Of course I'll worry. It's my job to do so. Now show me that wound. I said show it to me ### or I'll get the Fenton net and bind you to that chair! Oh, you know I will, young man, don't you tempt fate!" and thought he was angry, he was really grateful, cause someone cared. Someone minded so much, they would even threat for the other's well being. Artemis could relate, thought maybe in a more sadistic and aggressive context…

This loving feeling deep down, the knowledge you will never go against this person, even if she were to try and harm you. That you will always be there for them… it was the kind of love a sibling would have for another.

"Jade…" she whispered, holding the cat piece of her pendant. But a familiar voice called another name:

"**Jazz."**

And somehow, Artemis understood the meaning behind such a vehement call, right before she was taken away by the shadows.

* * *

Suddenly the eyes of the guide fixed on Megan's face.

"Phantom?" she asked, curious as to why he stopped ranting about his counterpart's bad habits.

The confused expression in his face slowly melted into one of understanding and tenderness, as —for the very first time since he met her— the ghost boy extended a hand to touch the green cheek of martian girl, taking her by surprise.

"I knew you reminded me of someone…" he said with a heartwarming smile. His body chose fizzle, as his legs began to disappear.

"Phantom?" she said, taking hold of his cold hand, worried for what was happening.

"Your friends… are really good at this hero stuff…" he chuckled, before looking at his now none existing legs. "Well… I guess my time is up."

She shook her head, feeling really crestfallen by what was happening.

"No… please, don't leave yet." She begged him, still holding at his hand with utmost care.

"Sorry, Meg… can't really stop it. But I'm glad you stayed behind," he said truthfully to her. "Now I know your friends do stand a chance… Fenton's decision was the correct one. I guess it's only right if I give you a little gift myself. Come closer please," He asked softly. "It's a secret… our most dear secret, so don't go telling anyone till the time is right… ok?"

She nodded slowly as she got closer to him till his lips were by her ear. And he softly whispered to her his secret. Her eyes widened as she smiled, going back to her position.

"Don't forget it, cause we really care for it." She smiled and nodded, sadly watching as the friend she had met only hours ago, slowly disappeared. "Good bye, Meg," and she nodded, because she knew if she said a word, she would end up crying. In a few seconds, the boy that had guided them during the last part of their journey, faded completely from existence, leaving her alone once more in the dark corridors of the Phantom's mind.

* * *

When he finally took hold of that warmth he immediately felt a familiar sensation filling his heart. Part of him wanted to shy away from that feeling because Kaldur had learned to relate it to the pain of rejection. But this feeling, so deep and strong… it was at the same time scary and soothing.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" exclaimed a young woman's voice from somewhere within the shadows. She sounded angry and aggressive, but Kaldur felt strangely safe by hearing it. "Look at yourself, you can barely stand on your own two feet!" she growled. "And you are clearly mumbling nonsense," she added in anger. The atlantean felt a surge of happiness. Whatever this girl was so annoyed about, that didn't affect the tender feelings the boy had for her. He must have been really hurt if she was saying all that, and the knowledge she was worrying for him made him so happy he didn't seem care, because he knew he was safe now. "Look at me, don't you faint on me ###, you hear me? Here lean on the bed. I'll bring the kit." Kaldur could almost feel the soft material against his skin. But then his happy mood was ruined by a searing feeling of guilt and worry. "I'm fine… it's just… when are you going to learn to ask for help when you need it?" her voice was so full of sorrow, and he was so sad of being the one to cause it. "What if… what if… you don't come back next time…" and he just wanted to hold her and tell her he'll be ok, that there was nothing to worry… but he knew that would be a lie… and he hated lying, especially to her. "Just… promise me you'll be more careful?" Kaldur could feel himself nodding, and slowly all of it went away… only darkness remained.

That feeling was so deep and strong. And Kaldur knew what it was almost since the moment he heard that girl's voice, and his heart imitated Phantom's reaction. It was love, as simple as that. A really strong feeling of love.

And he could only think of Tula at that moment, of his lost and rejected love. But the memory seemed to be selfish and denied him the voice to say her name in his nostalgic moment. Instead it gave him another, one said with deep care and appreciation.

"**Sam."**

And Kaldur had to laugh to himself. He understood, this memory was precious to Phantom, he had no right to bring his own into the fray. Nodding in silent acceptance, the atlantean allowed himself to be taken away.

* * *

Megan looked up as a soft light bathed the whole place, leaving behind the three bodies of her friends. She stood up and run to them looking at each of their faces, noting that they seemed to be really at ease… maybe asleep. She proceeded to shake them slowly, one by one, back into consciousness.

"Oh… my head," mumbled the boy wonder as he sat up, ruffling his raven hair. "What a dream…" he said, laughing softly.

"I can second that," said the archer as she thanked Megan for waking her up.

"Yeah… Oi, Kaldur, you ok?" said the boy as he turned to the leader.

The atlantean sat up with the help of Megan and looked at his other two friends.

"Yes. But more importantly, I know what his reason was." And they gave each other a smile. They now knew how to help him.

"Now we just have to get to the center and deliver the message." Said the boy wonder, turning to the side, looking for their guide, only finding a small pool of green fluorescent blood, a sight that took him by surprise for a second, before his good mood was instantly killed. "So… he's really gone?" The boy frowned deeply at the bittersweet feeling growing in his chest. On one hand, they might be able to safe Phantom now… on the other, they had lost the two guides in the process, and those two had been kind of their friends as well… it was truly disheartening.

The others seemed to take one moment to look at the same place as he, in silence, almost grieving their lost friend, but knowing they still could rescue the real Phantom, and make this be worth all the effort the guides put into it.

"He was really glad you could make it so far," commented Megan. "He seemed to be able to feel you got to the right memory before he faded away."

They lowered their heads, glad that they were able to at least make it easier for one of their guides.

"Ok… we don't have much time, let's go," said their leader as they all turned to the last gift the ghost boy had given them all, the tunnel that will take them directly to the center of Phantom's mind.

* * *

And that was all for now. Hope you enjoyed it. And hope you got the whole 'hat' and 'cape' allegory there.

**Hey guys!**

**I'm really sorry to do this… but there won't be a new chapter next week. I'm close to finishing my thesis and with the deadline quickly approaching I've found myself with less and less time to write. Now, I don't wish to end up writing some half assed chapter simply to keep with the updating rate, because I'm sure you wouldn't want that either. So I'm going to have to postpone the update till the first Monday of next month. I hope you don't mind waiting that much longer. I appreciate your patience.**

**Hopefully, I'll manage to finish this project by then and I'll be free to work on this story!**

**Thank you for reading.**

**Sincerely,**

**Daruku Janubu**


	14. Clarity

Hey!

Sorry for the Huuuuuge delay on this chapter. As I had said before I was working on my thesis, and well… I passed it! Yey! So, no more school for me! Double yey!

So, I get to work more on this things.

Now I had been having a few complains about how this story is so slow and has no action and all of that, and well, I'm going to tell this just once. Sorry if it get's too slow, but since I like how the pace is going... well, chances are I won´t change it much. Still, thanks for reading.

Ok, that was all.

Let's begin.

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter fourteenth

Clarity

* * *

As the group moved into the tunnel, they shared with each other what they've found out about their new 'friend'. They were surprised to find out that each of them had recovered a different part of his memory, but overall, they were disturbed by what this implied. Phantom had a family, and friends, or in the least, he remembered that he did. Therefore, there was a huge possibility that he had been a normal person before he was abducted and forced to endure all this cruel experimentation. This possibility made them feel even more enraged than they were at the beginning.

In silence, they moved as fast as they could through the passage, hoping to get to the original as soon as possible, but this task was proving to be more difficult than they had believed it would be at first.

The shortcut wasn't like the previous ones they had traveled with the guides. Every few steps, strange web-like layers covered the passage's tunnel. The deeper they got, the thicker the layers became. And every time the team forced their way through one, weird ghost like sensations would attack them, things pricking their skins, blaring sounds in their ears, scentsfilling their nostrils, and flashing lights blinding their eyes. It was slowly overloading their senses, and it got worse as they continued to move forward.

When a screeching cry invaded their ears in the fifth one, they had to stop. That voice had been so similar to Fenton's… they were beginning to worry, because of the feeling that told them they were slowly losing touch with reality. Megan tried to distract them by sharing her thoughts about the situation. She reassured her friends that nothing in there was real, nothing was really happening to them, and those webs were probably the mind's way of trying to close an 'alien' passage left open after the last guide had disappeared.

Hearing her say that helped calm them a little, but after crossing over another layer, they couldn't keep it , because Phantom's mind simply had a way of making everything be so freaking real. They kept saying it wasn't to themselves, like a mantra sort of phrase, but regardless, those sensations —that were attacking them faster and for longer than before— were slowly overpowering them.

By the tenth layer, they no longer could hear each other but only the buzzing sounds of weird pieces of machinery and unintelligible whispers. By the fifteenth, they could no longer see their friends or the path they were walking on, so they moved forward by mere touch as their eyes were filled with flashing pictures of things they would later dream to forget. And by the nineteenth, even their touch was lost and suddenly, they found themselves alone in the middle of nowhere, being pushed back by memory webs they no longer were aware of. But as they fought with all they had to keep themselves apart from the memories that tried to bring them down, they kept moving on. Through pain and fear, they kept walking, because they had promised their guide to do so, and the desire to succeed was burning strongly in their hearts. They might not have been aware of where they were going, but they trusted their guide had known what he was doing when he opened that shortcut, so as long as they didn't stop, the nightmareswouldn't become real and they should soon found the exit they were looking for.

* * *

In the infirmary…

When Bruce laid eyes over his young charge's unconscious face, he had to admit that he was slightly more scared and a lot more worried than he had previously believed he would be. And why? One would ask. Was it because Robin had obviously taken one of his dangerous decisions again without consulting with him? Was it because he had involved himself in something that he wasn't completely sure of? No. As a matter of fact, those things almost made him proud —key word being almost, because he was slightly more angry than glad at the moment. Those actions meant that Richard was growing, he didn't need Bruce by his side in order for him to choose what was good or bad, he was becoming independent; and even if a part of the older hero made him wish he had more time to keep his little Robin under his protective wing, he knew this was going to happen eventually and embraced it with all the pride and joy any parent would at seeing their son grow up to be the best man they could become. So no, those were not the reasons as to why he was worried.

The true motive for his anxiousness was the reaction of the remaining teammates as they ran to their friends' sides, concern painting their features as they asked each other what was happening, meaning that something was different from the way it had been before. And by the obvious signs of distress in the unconscious teenagers' bodies, he would bet his all that they weren't supposed to show psychical reactions to pain.

"J'onn?" The vigilante turned to the martian silently asking him to explain. The alien walked slowly to where his niece and a nervous Conner now sat.

"The level of mental distress seems to be increasing…" his green hand touched the clammy skin of Miss Martian as her lips trembled slightly. The young Kryptonian took her hand in his, never taking his eyes apart from her closed ones. The elder martian turned towards Batman, and in that instant there was no need for a psychic link for the vigilante to understand the desperate petition in them "Please, let me get them out."

The Dark knight turned to his shivering ward and the most human part of his heart screamed at him to allow the martian to do his job and get them out. But then his eyes fell upon the scarred form of Phantom. No… not Phantom. Daniel. Daniel Fenton, age sixteen, who went missing about six months ago, with parents and a sister and friends that thought he was dead; this was the boy his partner was trying to save.

His tired gaze fell over Robin's form again as Zatanna moved a few bangs of hair out of the boy's face. It was then that he saw it. Determination, something within his boy was not willing to give up yet, and it was present in those tight fists and those clenching teeth. Whatever Dick was seeing, he was fighting it with all his might. It was not only him, the others were fighting as well. They had someone to save and they would try till the very end. And for that they deserved his trust and respect. The team had gone a long way and they weren't children anymore, they weren't sidekicks either, they were becoming heroes in their own right, and the last job Batman had to complete in their growth was perhaps the hardest for a former mentor.

Looking at his alien friend, the vigilante shook his head. No, he had given them ten minutes, they still have some time left, and he wouldn't go back on that. The martian seemed startled till he noticed Bruce's tight fists by his sides. The Batman wouldn't betray Robin's decision, but Bruce was desperate to save Richard. Seeing his friend so willing to go so far to stand by what he believed right gave the martian the strength he needed to await for M'gann's return. Holding her other hand, he avoided looking at any of the others as he patiently counted down the seconds and minutes they still had left. Time had never moved slower.

* * *

When Fenton had told them that in order to help him they would have to experience a lot of painful sensations, they never imagined it would be like this. Reaching for the end of that tunnel was one of the worst experiences they had ever felt. They had lost all track of time, so they weren't sure whether they had been inside for a minute or a whole hour. All their senses had been blinded. They weren't able to see, hear, smell, touch, or even taste something that wasn't part of a twisted and bizarre memory that still wasn't enough to make them forget the horror of blindingly moving without feeling at all. That completely lost sensation would probably haunt them for the rest of their lives. And with that one, they had already a pretty large list of things they will be happy to forget about this place.

But finally, after a lot of struggle, they were able to reach the end. Sadly, the place they arrived to was not the safe reprieve they had been expecting.

The previously calm room was now almost completely trashed. The walls were covered in dual-colored blood and the smell was strong and almost putrid. Parts of the walls and the ceiling were falling slightly and the snowy floor was replaced by hard cold rock. The only thing left unscathed was Phantom's real mental form. The boy still hung from the chains with the same relaxed expression as if he had nothing to worry about in the world. It was a truly unsettling picture, such destruction surrounding such a peaceful being.

As the cave's floor trembled softly beneath their feet, they remembered the little time they had left, so they soon moved towards the sleeping form.

"Friend, we have seen within your memories." Said the Atlantean with a gentle but strong voice, to ensure he would be able to listen. "And we know what your heart truly desires."

For a second, the heroes looked at each other, wondering if they should just say what they saw… or if they should do something with it. Megan offered linking everyone's memories and try to share them with Phantom. It seemed to be the right idea, so they proceeded. Soon the voices they heard in the memories began echoing around the place. Words of concern and love sounded around them, all thanks to Megan's link. But for some reason it didn't seem to be enough, so Artemis decided to try something else.

"You had people that were important to you," she began as her friends looked at her wondering if this would work. She shrugged at them as if saying that she didn't have a better idea. They had to agree they didn't either, so they signed her to continue. "The memory of these people caring for you, the way they worried for you, it gave you the strength to tolerate all the things those monsters did," continued the archer. "Listen to them Phantom, these memories you've searched for so hard, they are here!"

The voices continued to resound through the cave, but still, the unconscious boy didn't wake.

"You had a friend," said Robin moving forward. "Please, you have to remember. He was your closest friend. A person so close you would have gladly called him your brother. Funny, silly sometimes, but still the best you could ask for. I know how that feels. And I know you couldn't have possibly forgotten about him! Tucker. That was his name. Please Phantom, you've got to remember Tucker!"

The walls of the cave shivered and a few pieces of the ceiling crumbled but still Phantom didn't react to anything at all. Fisting her hands, Artemis moved forward.

"You had a sister. An older sister. She cared for you a lot." She chuckled slightly. "Of course you thought she was annoying, who doesn't think their sister is annoying? But you loved her and she loved you just as much if not more. Jazz, that's her name! Please, you can't forget family, I know for a fact you just can't do that, please!"

As the voices continue to echo in the darkening place, the teens wondered if they were doing something wrong. Why weren't the voices and their own encouragement enough? What else should they do?

Aqualad decided to try his memory.

"There was a girl. She was really important. She cared for you when you were hurt and made even the harshest pain dim if she was there. You felt safe by her side. She was your most important and believe me friend, I know that feeling," Kaldur had to take a second to compose himself before continuing. "Sam. You remember that name? Sam! She must have been really important if you remembered her with such fondness. She worried for you more than you believed you deserve her to, so you have to wake up and go back to her! "

No answer.

The three teens that had shared their memories turned to Megan asking silently if she knew what was going on. The girl looked just as lost as them. Could they have forgotten something? Perhaps they had to say it louder… or maybe they missed the real memory?

It was in that moment that the cave began to shake furiously. Pieces of the ceiling fell down, both entrances to the cave —the original and the one made by the guide— were closed by the debris.

"T-that… can't be good…" mumbled Robin as all around them, the place began to fall apart.

* * *

Infirmary…

Suddenly, the body of the teen in the bed began convulsing. Eyes previously closed now where wide open as glazed over orbs stared at nothing. Canary and Manhunter moved quickly to assess the situation.

"He is having a seizure. Tornado," called Manhunter. The Robot took a syringe from a table and filled it before moving in to give the teen a shot. Yet before he could actually give it, the boy's body stopped convulsing. It fell over the bed and slowly relaxed. Batman turned to Manhunter, who was reading the vitals. "What's happening?" he demanded.

The martian seemed overwhelmed for an instant before answering.

"His body is shutting down." Declared the alien hero. "Batman… there is nothing we can do…"

Batman tightened his fists in helplessness; he looked at the unconscious teenagers and their teammates looking at them in worry. He could almost hear Wally's constant muttering of "they can do it, they can do it."

"Batman… please, we may not have much time." Beseeched the martian.

Looking at his charge's expression and the faded blue of the dying teen's eyes, he took his decision.

"Two more minutes." His words made everyone look at him with either an expression that said he was crazy or one of confusion. But he owed it to the team, and he would not back down. If Robin didn't, then he wouldn't either. "They still have two more minutes."

"Two might be too long." Begged the martian.

"Perhaps, but it's not our decision to make."

No one dared say another word, maybe because another word might have been enough to break them all. Somehow, time appeared to slow around them coming almost to a painful stop.

* * *

The place was crumbling down so fast it seemed a demolition site.

"What do we do?" asked Artemis as she tried to keep her balance.

"I… I don't know… what else could have gone wrong?" asked Robin as another particular strong shake almost made him fall.

"We told him what we saw… why is he not waking up?" demanded Aqualad as he avoided a piece of ceiling as it smashed against the place he had been standing.

"I… I don't know…" said the confused martian. They were trapped. No matter what they did now, they were trapped. There was no way out and even if there was one, they were too far away from the outer mind, not even a martian's mental strength could push them from where they were. Just like the Phantom guide had said, this was a one way trip, if they choose to try and wake him up, they had to succeed or they would die. She shook her head. There must be a way, something they hadn't thought of yet…

As if to mock her naivety even further, the floor beneath their feet cracked and began to cave on itself.

"Megan!" screamed Robin as he tried to reach her. Artemis tried reaching for Kaldur. A futile attempt to keep each other close and safe, but she knew better than them. She knew, down there, with or without the others, once they fell, only death awaited.

No! They couldn't die there! They had to save Pha…

It was then that her eyes widened, and everything around her seemed to move in slow motion, as if time was dragging by. But her mind focused on the memory of the smiling and hopeful guide as he began to fade away.

"_It's a secret… our most dear secret, so don't go telling anyone till the time is right… ok?" _

Till the time is right?

"_Don't forget it, cause we really care for it."_

Could it be…?

Almost moving against the slowed down time, she raised her head to the damaged boy's figure and taking a deep breath she cried one word, the most important word any creature can posses.

"DANNY!"

* * *

Peace.

That's how it could be summed up. That sensation that had invaded all the heroes in a moment in which the ominous notion of loss seemed to threaten them with its looming shadow like the boogie man would in a child's dream. It was so bizarre to feel so at peace at such a worrisome time. Later on, during the days to come, when they had free time to ponder about it, they would notice it. But it will take some time for them to understand it and even longer for them to believe it. Yet at the present moment, that instant of mental clarity was enough for them to see the situation from a new angle and move accordingly. Because in just a second, the teen's vitals had flared back to live and all the machines around him were demanding their attention. A collective sigh followed by silent thank you filled the air of the infirmary.

* * *

Eyes tightly closed, teeth strongly clenched, fists so tight knuckles turned white and fast breathing was how the four teens found themselves as they slowly opened their eyes to find out they weren't inside the ominous pit of darkness they thought they had been falling into. They were back in the floor of the cave.

Watching the cracks of the ice slowly closing proved that they almost actually fell, but somehow, the floor repaired itself, soft snow slowly grew on it, as if they were spring flowers covering a frozen meadow.

Still panting, they looked at each other to make sure they were alright, confusion written in all their faces as they nodded to their companions' silent question. But their attention soon was attracted by the sound of rattling metal.

Turning fast towards the source, they saw something that made them gasp.

Phantom's right hand was hanging limply by his side. His chest was moving up and down as if he had just done something utterly complicated, and his previously peaceful visage was now tainted by strain and pain.

"Wha… how?" asked Robin in confusion, voicing everyone's question. But then voices they knew from a far off memory filled the place once more, but this time, it wasn't Megan's doing.

"_But you know __**Danny**__ you really need to rest a little longer next time." _

"Danny?" asked the boy wonder.

"_I said show it to me __**Danny**__ or I'll get the Fenton net and bind you to that chair! Oh, you know I will, young man, don't you tempt fate!_

"Danny?... is that…" began Artemis.

"His name." declared the martian making everyone look at her. "The word that holds the most value to a person, because it is the way the people we love call us… I can't believe I forgot that…"

_"Look at me, don't you faint on me __**Danny**__, you hear me? Here lean on the bed. I'll bring the kit."_

"A memory all those memories had in common… the key to connect them to him…" said Kaldur as he watched closely at Ph— no, at Danny's form. The boy looked so feeble and weak, but something in his face seemed to say he was glad to hear those voices. "Perhaps… since he had forgotten his own name… he couldn't connect with the memories we gave him. Since they were people calling him by his real name and not Phantom?"

They seemed to agree on that, before turning to look at Megan with open curiosity. The martian girl flinched a little at being the center of their attention.

"How did you know his name?" asked Artemis.

Megan rubbed her cheek sheepishly.

"Phantom told me."

They blinked at her once more in confusion, making her sigh.

"Well… he said Fenton had taken the right decision by letting us get the memories so he had to give us a gift too. He told me their most important thing was 'Danny', not sure why, but it was and said I should use it when the time was right." She turned to the exhausted form of the boy she promised herself to always call Danny from now on and smile. "Now that I think about it, it's like Fenton gave us a treasure chest, and Phantom gave us the key to open it."

Each of them seemed to smile at her comment. Whatever the case, they did it. The real Phantom, Danny, was awake.

"Then I guess, mission accomplished?" asked the boy wonder with his cheeky grin. His friends nodded softly as they tried to stand once more, only to fall back as the cave began to shake strongly. "Wha—?"

Debris began to fall again and a huge part of the ceiling broke right over them. They huddled close to the others and raised their arms to try to protect themselves for there was no way they could actually avoid such a huge piece of ceiling, but it never fell. Opening their eyes they saw with surprise that strong pillars of ice had materialized holding the ceiling in place. A soft glow made them turn to look at the tired teen, as he held out his scarred right arm, with a single eye open shinning a magnificent blue. The teen's mouth moved with difficulty as his fierce glare pierced them in place, making them lose their breaths at the sheer power they could feel irradiating from his form towards the cave.

"_g-get….oout…" _whispered a voice to their ears, making them wonder if they had heard well.

A strong gust of wind blew against them and before they knew it, it was like a whole blizzard was pushing them away. A voice resounded around the place, strong, powerful but still a little desperate. It was a familiar voice, but also a new one and it made them shiver to their core.

"**GET OUT!"**

A bright light appeared behind them and even as they tried to hold on to the snowy floor, the blizzard managed to push them towards it. Last thing they remembered was the screams of their companions as they were swallowed by the light.

* * *

The sound of moans and groans from the waking teenagers was welcomed with joy by the other heroes. And as both seniors and teammates reprimanded and congratulate their waking companions, the sound of a stable heartbeat filled the place. And for the first time in the last couple of days, they allowed themselves to believe things would turn out alright.

* * *

As the ancient creature watched the image of the young teenagers being embraced by peers and guardians, he smiled a little.

"Well, it seems I haven't lost my touch," he said to himself with a soft chuckle before his mirror focused over the figure of the resting body on the bed. A sad but hopeful gleam entered his red eyes. "One step closer, Danny," he mumbled as he touched the mirror's surface tenderly. "One step closer." He frowned slightly at the relaxed expression of the teen. "Now all you have to do is learn to walk again."

The gleam from another mirror distracted him from his musings and made him turn to the left. The new picture made him a grimace.

"So… they finally got to that part, huh?"

The image from the view port zoomed in, to show a group of white uniformed people moving around the remains of the destroyed truck.

One of the figures brought out a communication device and proceeded to answer it. The time master moved a hand over the mirror and soon the sound of the conversation filled the room as clear as if it was happening right in front of him.

"Sir, we have searched everywhere, but there is no trace of the containment unit or the subject."

"Then search further agent, your team better not return to HQ unless you've got a lead to its whereabouts, or else you'll have to face the consequences."

"S-sir, yes, sir!"

Then the communication was cut.

Rubbing his now bearded chin, the ancient being's frown deepened. Pulling his staff a little higher, he summoned another mirror. In a language almost as ancient as he himself was, he asked to see that which he wished to see, more out of his wish to presence it by himself, since he already knew what would happen.

The mirror obeyed its master's will and turned on, fizzling a little, before settling into the right picture. It was the interior of a high tech lab, and as if moved by a camera, the position of the lenses' focus moved through the place till the form of a man entered the view. This man was pacing anxiously in front of a huge computer screen, a permanent scowl etched on his hard features. He was very tall and strong looking, and was dressed in a completely white suite with black boots and gloves. His eyes were hidden behind black glasses that made his cheekbones stand out even more. He had a strong chin framed by his black and carefully trimmed beard. His bald head sported a single scar on the right side, starting right over his ear and ending at the nape of his head. This man was the leader of the GiW, a determined and prepared man, also known as Agent 'T'. And at the current moment, he was angry beyond belief, not only with his underlings who once more had proven their lack of experience in the field, but also towards one of their benefactors who was pushing him to the limits of his patience… The master of time couldn't help but grin at the man's exasperation, especially when the intercom signal of the computer began to blink. The words "speak of the devil and he shall appear" came to his mind.

* * *

The leader corrected his suit's tie a little, before pressing the button and beginning what would definitely be a really unnerving conversation.

"General," greeted the educated businessman to the man on the other side of the screen.

"Oh, Mr. Luthor, great to see you. How are you doing, sir?" asked the man trying his best to appear glad of seeing their benefactor in such a day.

"Quite well, thanks for asking," Answered Luthor with that condescending tone of voice of his that made 'T' very uncomfortable. "But I'm also quite perplexed about something. You see, I was under the impression that your people were to deliver a very important cargo to my west coast facilities. Could you explain what happened to it?"

'T' swallowed silently as he collected his thoughts and answered.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Luthor, that project 'DP' has escaped." Said the man as he straightened himself a little, trying not to show any weakness as he talked.

For a second Luthor looked at the man's face, making the agent feel a little too uneasy on his feet, before he sighed dramatically.

"You lost it?" he asked as if he couldn't believe it. "General, were you not the one that ensured me that your anti-ecto technology was advanced enough to ensure there would be no chances for the subject to escape?" regardless of the millionaire's concerned attitude, 'T' was experienced enough to understand when someone was deliberately mocking him. Still, he stood strong and waited for an opening to answer. "Now what are you going to do?"

Noticing this was his chance, the general decided to share his two cents.

"Sir, if only you hadn't insisted that we transport Phantom out of our HQ this wouldn't have happened. The ghost's power core had been fluctuating dangerously for a while. That move wasn't very wise of us."

Luthor simply looked at him for a few seconds more before leaning over his desk with his elbows and resting his head over his crossed hands.

"General," the voice had a strong undertone that demanded the 'inferior' man to quietly listen. 'T' straightened at the shiver that ran down his spine. "When you failed to notify me about Phantom's capture from the very beginning I dismissed it, even thought I had specifically ordered for that specimen to be delivered to my installations right after capture. Yes, since I was occupied with other more important matters, I acted as if nothing had happened, even thought you kept its presence a secret for the first two months. So when you asked for help to allow your people free reign inside Amity Park, I was a little disappointed," the general could feel cold sweat falling down his brow as Luthor narrowed his eyes at him. "But, never the uncivilized one, I took things the best way possible, and helped you cover your little misdeeds from your higher ups and —at the risk of losing a very important business partner— helped you to attain control over the town. All I asked was to be given the subject we had agreed would be delivered to me from the beginning." Luthor sighed and shook his head as he leaned back against his chair. "But you begged me to allow your team to continue their investigation on the 'ghost-boy', being it your greatest opportunity and all, and I _still_ allowed it, as long as you gave all useful information to LexCorp first. Do you get what I am trying to say here, general?"

The man, in his nervousness, almost didn't notice he had been asked a question. But then he had to answer with a: "No, sir," that came out too soft for his liking.

"After five month of allowing you to play around with Phantom and bring back little to no significant advances, I finally demanded that you fulfilled your part of the deal." The man raised his voice a little, some anger sipping through his tone. "And somehow, before I get my rightful prize, you and your foolish agents manage to lose the beaten and chained up ghost of a teenager in the middle of nowhere? Are you understanding now, general?" he demanded making the man tremble at the pure anger hidden behind his gentle tone.

'T' had fought against dangerous people in his military days and then monsters of nightmare since he took over the GIW, but never had he been as scared as he was when facing Lex Luthor's wrath.

"Y-yes, sir!"

The businessman's voice then turned back to its normal condescending tone.

"Good. Now, I will appreciate you recover my specimen as soon as possible. If you do not, well… let's make sure we don't get to that part, shall we?"

The general recoiled slightly at the sweet smile the millionaire sported as he said that.

"Y-yes, sir!"

"I'll look forward to hearing from you general, good news hopefully."

And the communication was cut short.

* * *

The ghost of time looked at the ended conversation and could only shake his head. Some people end up digging their own graves. Then his eyes traveled over all the other mirrors that had lighten up since the conversation began.

A ship traveling the ghost zone at great speed.

Some ghosts searching in confusion around the world for a lost friend.

A gravestone with fresh flowers.

A dirty lab with no one working on it.

A lonely, scared and paranoid boy sitting alone in the fast food restaurant of his town.

Another teenage boy hiding from his friends behind some lockers at school.

A teenage girl asleep on her desk with dark rings under her eyes.

A man asleep in his business suit over a coach in his home half buried in reports.

So many lives, so many unaware that one single person had such impact on their existences.

Yes, it was needed that Danny learned to stand on his own once more, unfortunately, with how things were going; he might have to learn to fly before he learned to walk.

Not for the first time in his existence, and not even for the first time in the last couple of months, Clockwork cursed his tied hands when it came to his young friend´s destiny.

* * *

Leaving that aside, this chapter isn't very long, because it's the ending of a part of this story, the "Danny is asleep and the team have to help him" part. So next one will be the beginning of the next part of this story, and part of Danny's world will slowly invade the YJ's one. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I hope you liked it so far. And see you in the next chapter! I'm going back to the one chapter every two weeks schedule.

R&R


	15. Awakening

Now, I really have no good excuse for taking this long to update… the only real reason is my terrible case of procrastination… I'm a lazy author TT-TT

I was used to the updating schedule before, but it seems that having that long period of not writing really make me lose my rhythm. **I'm sincerely sorry for the delay.**

Now I know today is not Monday, and this was supposed to come up that day, but I had a few problems including a doctor forbidding me from using the computer for a whole day, so I decided to update it now instead of waiting for next Monday to come.

Now, a few things about this chapter: I know some readers will find this tedious to read, but much of what I placed in here is going to be mentioned later on, so my advice, take your time. Read a piece and if you get tired, leave it at the line break and come back later, don't force yourself to read continuously if you get bored.

By the way, many people tried to guess about the pictures Clockwork saw in his mirrors… well, I'm sorry to say they got most of them wrong, but it was a nice try! I think one person got about half of them right! But don't worry, you'll eventually find out what each of them are.

Also, this is my doctor's kind advice: **internet users stop for a second and straighten your back, don't haunch over your sit. And please, blink! Did you know that when you use the computer you forget to blink constantly? That can hurt your sight, be careful!**

Well, this is the passing chapter, so hope you enjoy it, regardless of how unholy long it is. I'll try to make shorter ones in the future, who knows; maybe go back to the old schedule of one per week. We'll see!

Now, let's begin.

* * *

**Unfair Justice**

Chapter Fifteen

Awakening

* * *

_Time heals and time destroys_

* * *

"Daniel Fenton."

An actual name. The teen that his team had saved at the risk of their lives had an actual name! He wasn't really sure if he was ready for all of this, he had only woken up a couple hours ago after all. A name came with repercussions that he didn't want to face yet, but at the current moment, in the briefing hall of Mt. Justice, with Batman looking seriously at them while presenting the kid's picture, KF knew they were not going to be given another choice. So instead of feeling apprehensive with the new information, he chose to be grateful that their senior had been considerate enough to give them all at least 24 hours to recover before dropping all this new info on them.

And what a great 24 hours those were.

When the others awoke they had been awfully disoriented and they latched onto the closest person to them, trying to get a hold on their bearings. After Manhunter managed to connect with all their minds, they seemed to snap out of their confusion. But almost instantly they went limp with exhaustion. They could only utter a glad comment when they were informed that Phantom seemed to be stable. Wally had Artemis in his arms as she, like all the others, fell couldn't blame her, after all, KF felt almost as spent as if he had just ran a marathon around the world without anything to snack on. They all needed some rest.

It was decided that everyone would crash at the MT. for the night. Even Batman allowed Robin to stay in one of the spare rooms. Of course, before actually being persuaded —more like forced— into going to sleep by his own mentor, KF had made sure Artemis and Rob were truly alright, first things first, right?. The moment Wally's head touched the pillow he was lost to the world.

For the past 24 hours, the team had basically relaxed and rested, per Martian Manhunter's orders. And no one wanted to make the senior martian even more anxious than he had been since he realized the ridiculous plan the team members had decided on following.

But thirty minutes ago, Batman had called to say that he would be arriving shortly to share his findings on this 'Daniel''. Apparently, the leaguers had a meeting to get updated on the situation while the team rested, which also explained the lack of 'parental' supervision the teens had had since they woke up. Not that he was complaining of course, last thing his friends needed was an overly concerned Martian making questions about their mental states.

When the holographic screen was turned on by the dark knight and the images displayed for them to see, they could barely believe it. Well, perhaps it was more his own personal view on the subject. Robin seemed to be more pleased than anything. Maybe, his best friend had already developed a few hypotheses of his own. Who knows… with Rob nothing was completely certain.

"He prefers Danny." KF whipped his head around as he heard the sound of Megan's voice breaking the expectant silence that had covered the room. The team members that didn't go into the mind trip reacted just like him: looking at her in confusion and curiosity, which was funny because Conner was currently holding her hand while looking at her with big innocent eyes and a raised eyebrow. Part of KF still hated to admit it, but those two were really adorable together. He should file this moment in his memory for when he and Rob were joking later. But back to the subject at hand:

"Danny?" asked the speedster, rising one eyebrow at archer that stood by his left.

Artemis shrugged and smiled innocently. "He did seem to prefer it."

The ones that had traveled into 'Daniel's' mind nodded in agreement.

"_Ok… another thing we were left out of." _Wally mentally sighed as he leaned his weight on to his left side, grumbling to himself.

Knowing he wouldn't get a better explanation right now, KF made a mental note to ask later, and tried to focus what he could of his attention in the picture Batman was presenting them. If the kid in the photo was the same one in the infirmary, then the change in his looks were worthy of a prize in extreme make-up.

The teenager he was looking at had a lively expression —albeit, slightly uncomfortable for some reason. Those blue eyes were filled with emotion and a hidden glint of mischief, almost like Robin's were whenever the younger boy took off his domino mask. His skin was slightly pale but it was a healthy kind of tone, like it was meant to be that way and though most of his features were defined, the boy still kept a small amount of baby fat that would surely make more than a few girls consider him 'adorable' or 'cute'. Not a blemish could be found on his face or his arms. His built was thin, small, with little muscle, but looking closely, he also seemed fitter than the regular teen's with that body type… almost like he was of the same kind as Robin, athletic, better suit for acrobatics and speed than for brute strength. If Wally had never met Dick in his life to use as an example, he would probably have made the mistake of thinking that 'Daniel Fenton' was an easy prey. But alas, he knew the boy wonder, so to him it was obvious that with the proper training, this guy could surely pack a punch.

But not now… definitely not now.

The boy, still deep in his slightly restless sleep, was more akin to a morgue's corpse than he was with the teen of the picture. Though in the last 24 hours 'Danny's body had been reacting better to treatment and some color had returned to his otherwise gray cheeks, he was still in a really bad condition.

The sound of a clearing throat brought the speedster out of his own musings. The Dark Knight was calling for their attention once more.

"Then 'Danny' Fenton," said the vigilante," was reported missing about six months ago. Three months later he was declared dead."

"Just three months?" asked a Zatanna. "Isn't that a little too fast to declare someone dead?"

"That depends," answered the boy wonder narrowing his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Most of the time it takes longer, depending on the state laws regarding missing persons. Nevertheless, if the circumstances surrounding the disappearance justify the potential death, then it wouldn't be that strange to make the declaration sooner than normal."

"It seems that in this case, such circumstances were present. This teen used to live Amity Park, after all." Added the vigilante.

"Wait. Amity Park? As in 'most-haunted-place-in-USA' Amity Park?" asked an unconvinced Artemis.

"No way!" KF looked at his senior with widen eyes and a tense posture. "Amity Park, Danny Fenton… Phantom… You don't mean to tell us…?"

Batman nodded once before typing on the holographic keyboard, making three headlines to appear for them to see.

'Ghost-boy strikes again'

'Inviso-bill saves school from food monster'

'Phantom, Hero or Menace?'

The sole concept of what Batman was suggesting almost made Wally laugh, but his skeptical side made him sober up immediately. No way were they actually telling him that they had 'THE Phantom' of Amity Park in their infirmary. No way was their senior suggesting that the 'ghost-hero/villian' of that town, that supposedly battled ghosts for a living, and was a ghost himself, was staying at their hideout. THAT WASN'T POSIBLE! Everyone knew it was a scam, nothing but a lie to sell the town to the supernatural enthusiasts. Come on! You just had to look at the news paper's 'photographs', the quality was so bad it was clearly a photo montage! The humanoid figure was almost a black and white smear, how could anyone believe such a ruse? But the voice of reason in his mind reluctantly pointed out that their guest was —obviously— not completely human. As he made an effort to reign over his contradictive thoughts, KF begged for someone to bring some logic into the scene.

"Hero or Menace? What do they mean by that?" asked the confused Atlantean, not even mentioning how impossible it was for the whole 'ghost' thing to be real. But Wally decided that Kaldur, being a member of a 'supernatural' race, was most likely open to this kind of concepts, surely no one would take this in on a stride like him, right?

Of course, he had to be proven wrong by his own best friend.

"The people of Amity Park never got to decide whether Phantom was on their side or on the ghosts' side." A wide smirk —one that made Wally's growing urge to groan even stronger— appeared on the boy's face. "So that's why the guides got so nervous when I mentioned that the Winchester mansion was not the most haunted place in America anymore."

"_Guides? What guides?"_ wondered KF to himself.

"What do you mean, Robin?" asked Kaldur.

The youngest hero gave a sheepish smile as he turned to look at their leader.

"There was this one rumor running on the internet a while ago. It said that the mansion wasn't qualified as the 'most haunted place' anymore. Some members of the paranormal community pointed Amity Park's increase in ghostly activity and proposed it as the new 'most haunted'. This was mostly done by hardcore fans that lived in the town. Between all the info they presented to justify their position, there was one word that kept repeating itself." He looked at his friends before turning to his mentor who patiently listened to anything the young boy had to say. "That word was 'Phantom'. They said a ghost that went by that name was acting as the protector of Amity Park. I wasn't really sure if our guide was the same 'Phantom', but now that I think of it, his costume and his reaction to the mention of the 'most haunted' was a huge give away."

"_Great, another reference I don't get!"_ thought the speedster.

Not able to contain his irritation anymore, he allowed a groan to escape his lips.

"Seriously, dude? You believed those rumors?"

Robin raised his hands in defense.

"I'm just stating what I found. Of course, many considered it to be a set up. Some even suggested the town was doing it to profit from paranormal touring. The lack of evidence and the insistence of some people that lived in the town got so bad that they lost almost all their credibility from one day to another. In fact, the moment the 'Amity-Park-Angle" began placing news about their 'ghostly-hero' they went from serious news paper to tabloid in a matter of days."

"So… no one believed in them?" asked Rocket who was a little lost with all the mentions of things they hadn't seen. At least Wally wasn't alone in his ignorance.

"They used to wonder about it… at least till the whole 'Amity Park Syndrome' deal," said the boy wonder before crossing his arms once more.

"The what now?" asked a confused Artemis.

"APS or the Amity Park Syndrome," answered the baritone voice of their senior, making them turn to him once more. "What I'm about to tell you occurred about two years ago.

Amity Park had presented many complains about ghosts in their history, those complain had gotten particularly common around the time, but nothing to be considered important had happened. At least till the 'incident'. People began to say that the whole town had being swallowed into another dimension by a mythical creature known as 'Pariah Dark'."

The gasp that escaped from Zatanna made her friends look at her in curiosity.

"Pariah Dark?" she asked. "That's impossible. If such a being had been released from its prison, chaos and mayhem would have befallen the world!"

"Who's Pariah Dark?" asked Superboy.

"Pariah Dark is supposedly the King of Spirits. Or in this case, King of ghosts. It was said that he used to spread horror around the world eons ago, but was somehow imprisoned. Zatara also reacted the same way when I mentioned his assumed intervention in this incident. But, though he mentioned that the town had a particular strong natural signature for spiritual energy, there was no proof of the presence of such an entity in any part of the world." The dark hero explained. "According to his information, had Pariah Dark being freed, there would have been no accessible method to have stopped such powerful creature before it had destroyed the whole state. And even so, Pariah Dark was —even to him— an old legend, nothing to prove its existence with."

"Even to magicians, such creature was mostly a being used to scare you from turning into the dark arts." Commented Zatanna.

"You must then understand that when the people of the town declared that 'the ghost-boy' had saved it from such a being, it seemed too farfetched to be real." The vigilante brought up a paper's head line reading 'Ghost boy saves town from ghost king!'.

"He… he beat that thing up by himself?" asked Superboy in wonder.

"Given the current circumstances the possibility can't be ruled out. But at that time, it seemed improvable. Still, never taking any call for help lightly, we took the decision to investigate further into it. Unfortunately, at the time the league was dealing with its own crisis, one involving Wonder Woman's homeland."

"The Amazon crisis… the whole league was called on duty," said Kaldur.

"Indeed. We couldn't afford sending a member, yet we still got a group to travel into town. We personally picked a team from star lab's researchers for this mission. Each of them had proven to be trustworthy and diligent in their research, so we knew we were leaving things in good hands. IF Amity Park was truly under such danger from these creatures, then we needed to know about it, so that we could offer our help to the town and the potential young hero that lived in there." A small grimace appeared on the vigilante's face. "When the team returned, they reported two important things:

The first was that after analyzing the environment they found a foreign component in the potable water. They identified the substance to be APX 465 a drug developed by Axion Labs, a small lab located within the town. It appears that a filtration in the disposal pluming had allowed the drug to filtrate into the water, affecting many of the locals. The drug is known to generate mild hallucinations and disorientation, but aside from that is completely benign. Vladimir Masters, owner of the company, went public with the incident and apologized to the people for any damage that may have occurred, as well as paying for the cleaning procedures." Batman showed them the picture of a middle aged man, talking in what appeared to be the town's hall. "The second founding was related to the ghost history of the place.

After interviewing a considerable number of witnesses, the research team came to the conclusion that the people weren't completely convinced about what had happened. This town had a long story of ghost folklore, and it wasn't weird that the locals blamed any strange occurrence on ghost activity. After further looking into it, and taking into consideration the water contamination, it was declared that the whole event was a case of sever mass hysteria."

He paused a moment to allow them to digest what he was explaining them. Once he saw everyone was following he continued.

"According to the theory developed by Doctor Michaelle A. Doudler, head of the team, people raised in the town were very susceptible to the influence of the mass due to an environment rich in superstition. After observing how they acted during the day she perceived they constantly thought ghost attacks would happen at any given moment, taking it almost in a stride. They also spoke of this heroic/villainous figure they called 'Inviso-bill' or 'Phantom', as some sort of 'Deus ex machina' character that both began and finished each ghost related event." The dark knight closed his eyes in what looked like disappointment. " Yet the team remained in town for almost a month and during that time, they never saw a single ghost or the ghostly hero. Asking to some tourists they were shocked to find that only the15% of visitors actually saw a ghost, and only a 4% of them ever saw this 'Phantom'."

Looking at the senior's reaction, Wally wondered if the Batman felt some kind of regret for not finding the boy sooner. Probably, he decided, it was a shame that 'Danny' didn't get the chance of being part of their team… if those researchers had seen him at least once…

"When the report was published, the Doctor named this occurrence as the 'Amity Park Syndrome' in which people that wished to see ghosts so fervently, became susceptible to the pressure of the mass. She mentioned that some tourists may fall into the illusion if they allow themselves to be taken by this idea. The lack of trustworthy evidence, due to bad quality of video or photographic proof, and contradicting declarations from people that were considered under the influence of the group, plus the amount of advertisement the town did to their ghosts solidified the idea of it all being a clever hoax."

"So… no one believed them?" asked a disappointed Megan.

The vigilante narrowed his eyes, perhaps self disappointment.

"No. No one." He said as moved to bring another set of pictures to the screen, these ones of a group of people dressed in white suits. "Except for the government branch of paranormal investigation known as the GIW."

"The GIW?" asked Wally, raising an eyebrow in contempt. "You mean the 'Guys In White'? aren't they like a joke told among governmental agents?"

"Nah. The name is the joke, but they do exist. They used to be more active during the cold war but after a few years almost disappeared completely, becoming close to being considered a simple urban legend, but they do exist." Commented the boy wonder.

"This agency of paranormal investigators was created by the government many decades ago. Back then, they used to be called the 'Ghost Investigation Ward' for they only had a small place in the a military base known as Area 51 to develop their research. There is not much information about what they used to do in there." The dark knight frowned as continued. "Some years later they were almost dismantled, but somehow they managed to stay in the business. The people that saw them considered them crazy and a joke. And given their custom of dressing completely in white, a paranormal site began calling them the 'Guys in White', a name that soon replaced the original in the mind of the population. Instead of hiding from the mockery though, they embraced the new name."

So first a ghost, then a crazy town full of people that actually were under ghost attacks and now a secret organization (not really so secret) that were considered a joke but that were actually in the right? Ok, what more? Is there anything else he had to know about this ridiculous and improbable situation? Was a Big foot or the Yeti going to make an apparition next?!

"We are not sure what part they play in what happened to Danny. In fact, obtaining information from their current moves is proving to be quite difficult, which of course only raises the suspicion. But we know one thing. About five months ago, the agents began introducing themselves into the ambit of Amity Park, forming small bases around town to watch over it. Given the concept of it being haunted, and them being viewed as the loons of the government, no one really asked much about this. No emergency call was ever made, and so, we were left in the dark on this situation."

_Ok… hey! Wait a minute!_

"White…" Wally mumbled as he continued to watch the pictures of this people dressed in pristine white suits. Hadn't Megan mentioned white before?

"Those… those white suits," he turned his head the moment he heard the nervous tone in Artemis' voice. "They are the same… the same I saw in his mind…"

"Yes, everyone was dressed in white... Could it be, they were the ones to keep him in captivity all this time?" asked Kaldur.

"It's very probable…" commented Robin as his hand strangely rubbed over his chest. Was it KF's imagination or had his friend been doing that a lot since he woke up?

"In any case, more information must be acquired before reaching a conclusion." The Dark Knight then turned off all the pictures and walked to the center of the room looking at each of the young heroes. "Given the fact that you risked so much to help this boy out, we considered you had the right to a better understanding of his situation. Daniel Fenton, or Danny as you suggested, is probably going to require a lot of your help to recover properly. If all the rumors of his actions before in Amity Park are true, then you may have saved the life of a fellow young hero. You took your own decisions and ultimately proved us wrong in ours, succeeding in saving him. Well done." His words made Wally and his friends smile with satisfaction. It wasn't every day the Dark Knight openly praised them.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" the voice of a new person came from one of the halls. Everyone turned to see Superman entering the room quietly till he stood by the side of the dark hero. "I'm with Batman about the good job you've done; saving lives is ultimately the main reason we are here after all." His posture was tense and little frown was present on his brow. "But I must remind you not to take the boy in too quickly. I'm sure you would understand that we can't be too careful with this."

The teens looked at each other, wondering what he meant by that. Wally turned to Robin and only saw the boy wonder shrug in confusion.

"You must keep in mind, Phantom was considerate both the hero and the villain of Amity Park. Whether he was one or both, we do not know for certain." He explained kindly, almost like he was trying to help little children understand, which if you ask him, made Wally a little annoyed. But he knew the man of steel was simply trying to help, and Superman wasn't exactly an expert on dealing with things the 'sensible' way. "Also, how can we actually be sure that this kid is the real Phantom? We've made that mistake before. We must stay alert and find the truth about this whole situation before taking the risk of lowering our guards around him."

Was Superman suggesting they might have a clone or something?

Wally looked discretely at Conner's reaction, and found that fortunately —mostly for them than for Superboy himself— the kryptonian boy was only a little saddened by his 'originals' words. Had he been angry, they would have had a discussion, one the rest of the team shouldn't really be part of… you know? Friends shouldn't be present when you're fighting with your dad, right? That's private.

But now that he thought about it… what if Superman was right? What if they had a clone instead of the real thing?

"No… he can't be a fake, his mind was too complex, his memories too real to be created." Declared the Atlantean with deep vehemence.

"I hate to remind you of this, but Roy Harper's mind was as complex and assured of his memories as any normal mind would. The only difference is that our Red Arrow was in fact a clone," said the tense Kryptonian. "When implanted memories are placed into a blank slate they are usually taken as real. It might be so for him, that doesn't mean he is."

"So… we have to approach him under the premise that he is either a criminal or a clone?" asked Rocket, her stance deflated at the sudden change in everyone's mood.

"It's preferable that you keep your guard up. We are not judging anyone, but till we have more information, we shouldn't risk ourselves." Said the Dark knight before ending the meeting and telling everyone to rest, missions will continue to come and they were still expected to complete them.

* * *

In between the rubble of a broken mind…

Cold.

How long since the last time he actually saw it?

Inexperienced hands moved against the cold snow under his sitting form. Snow. Yes… it was snow.

He was so confused… too used to being everywhere and nowhere at the same time, too used to denying everything around him or hiding as much as he could, but now…

Now he was exposed. He was left to fend for himself against the cold hurtful blizzards and the skin burning frost. But…

But he was also able to feel the comforting sensation of fresh white snow under his fingertips, and the wind sometimes whispered words of love and care. How long since he last heard them? They soothed his fears and kept most of the shadows away… but they weren't going to give up on him yet.

The shadows loomed closer to his form and sometimes pictures he didn't want to see came to his eyes, but those words the wind shared seemed to be enough to scare them away, enough… for him to breath…

Was he scared?

Terrified.

Was he ready to move?

Hell, no.

Was he happy to be there?

Not particularly.

So, what now?

The broken figure, unable to stand on his wobbly extremities, simply sat there, playing with the snow that was close to him, moving uncoordinated hands to push pieces together and make a small pile. His eye chanced a glance towards the sky over his head and for a moment he remained mesmerized by all the glinting lights on the enormous expand of dark blue. A Childlike whim coursed through his body like warmth on his frozen blood. He wanted to touch them. Touch those beautiful lights. Unfortunately, his body was too weak, and keeping his head up at the moment seemed to be too effort. Lowering his sight back towards the snow, he felt disappointed for having to give up on the lights, but comforted himself with the soft and cold feeling between his fingers. His head felt all blurry, and nothing really made sense, but somehow, this felt like the right thing to do.

Slowly, and while shivering, he made a small hump in front of him. The more he moved the snow, the more experienced his fingers became. The shadows lurked up to him and hurt his form, made his scars hurt and memories to resurge, but he focused on the voices the wind offered and continued to move the snow. A picture came to his mind. A huge building made of bright rocks… bricks, they were bricks. There was a strange thing looming above and bright little lights on the side… green lights… he liked that color, it brought a smile to his face. Having something to aim to, he began to work.

After all,

He had all the time in the world.

* * *

In complete silence, Megan watched over his sleep. It had been three days since Batman shared his findings with them, and there had always been at least one person by Danny's side ever since. Most of the time the team members were the ones to offer, but normally it was either Conner or Megan who were openly keen at the prospect of spending hours sitting by an unconscious person —this of course, made Wolf a little jealous. She had a feeling that Kaldur, Artemis and Robin didn't feel up to being alone with the boy for long periods of time since they came back from the whole mind travel and all that… they might still feel a little awkward about all they saw and felt… she hoped they were ok.

Her hand unconsciously caressed one of his cheeks, the same way the Phantom guide did to her before he disappeared. How much damage would there be? Phantom warned her that things might be more complicated than she thought. The 'original' wasn't stable enough, so dealing with him might prove a challenge to their patience. Regardless, she had promised to do so, to care for him till he got better. She had no doubt in her mind that the leaguers were wrong about Danny, he was the original 'Phantom' she knew it deep inside. Besides, Megan couldn't help but consider him part of her earthly family already… it hadn't been long, but they had gone through so much worry and strife together…

The soft beeping of the heart monitor was a comforting reminder of his improving health. It was a slow heartbeat, only half the normal number of beats per minute, but it was still strong and rhythmic, so they considered it to be fairly normal for him.

Looking at his relaxed expression she marveled at how fast his body was recovering. In only a couple of days, his skin had recovered almost all its natural color –or at least it seemed so compared to his photographs from before— and a soft blush colored his cheeks. The dark rings under his eyes were less pronounced, though still too clear to be healthy. But he was getting better.

Her eyes stopped over the scar on the bridge of his nose and swiftly she retracted her hand. Her uncle said that there was a good chance that many of his scars would vanish in time as his recovery progressed. Apparently, his body had a very selective process of healing, in which the energy is used to cure that which demanded most attention before slowly taking care of other minor injuries. The elder martian had hopes that perhaps this rule would include his damaged vocal cords as well as the sight and hearing on the right side of his head. She hoped so too.

Megan moved some strands of hair out of his face, inspecting it carefully. A scar cut his right eyebrow, it was small, easy to hide. Another scar went from the right temple to the underside of his ear, that would be a little more difficult, but surely, if his hair grew a few inches longer, it would help. Then there was the hook like scar around his left eye… now, unless he wore a hood, it would be almost impossible to prevent people from seeing it. And lastly, there was the scar that cut through his lips. That one was thin, and sliced the left corner of his lips almost like it was made with a razor of some kind. That one and the one on his nose bridge probably wouldn't be able to stay hidden from others' view. She wondered what kind of situation had resulted in those scars.

At least, the nasty marks on his neck would be easily concealed by a scarf or turtle neck shirts.

Sighing, she leaned against her chair, separating herself from her new friend. She hoped he was aware of this… aware of his real appearance, because if he wasn't then that would be quite the shock…

To all that, how much would he be able to remember when he finally woke up? She wasn't a fool, she saw how when they left from his mind things were still crumbling down, and she knew —till some unconscious level— that the cave had to crumble in order for Danny to be able to reconstruct his mental plane the proper way. But that meant a lot would be temporarily —if not permanently— lost. Would he even remember who they were? Or would they have to start from zero? So many questions, so many fears… How she wished he would wake up and answer them for her!

Cold.

Peace.

Silence.

She shook her head as these invaded her mind. Her fears were laid to rest and her anxiousness was completely extinguished. She would have gotten worried at feeling the comfort spreading through her being, had she not learned that this was somehow Danny's doing. She turned to look at his relaxed form and saw his brow twitching a few times before relaxing again. That was as far as a reaction they had gotten in the past few days. It appeared that every time someone close to him became excited or anxious, this cold feeling would take over them and their heads will be instantly cleared. Why? They didn't really know. But they had some hypothesis. It could be a self defense mechanism meant to guard the weakened boy from any negative reaction that people around himself could have while he wasn't able to fight back. Or it could be just a consequence of his unconscious trying to reach them and communicate. No one was sure, but something was clear, and it was that, till some level, Danny was able to manipulate their feelings. This concept made the elder heroes a little concerned; they worried the younger ones could be somehow coaxed into reacting against their normal nature.

She doubted it. Whatever was happening, it wasn't bad. They weren't technically being forced into feeling another way, they were just pacified, and that wasn't wrong in her book. It was a good question though. One she would surely ask him when he got better. For now, she would continue to watch over his sleep and share a few words about her last mission or about her normal day. All the while looking out for any proves of consciousness her new friend may show.

* * *

_Time goes by, for some people faster than for others, but everyone eventually find themselves looking back and wishing they would move backwards, at least once…._

* * *

In the study of a small apartment, only lighten up by the lonely lamp…

53…

65?

No, 62. Definetely 62.

Reclining against the back of his trusty old leather chair, the middle aged man let out a deep sigh. His right index and thumb were throbbing softly, the way they normally did after spending hours correcting his students' assignments.

Hours. Throwing a quick glance at the small analog clock resting on his desk he became aware of the time he had invested on such a job since he arrived home. The man sighed as he allowed himself to leave the worn out pen over the last paper he had to correct. Five hours correcting the mediocre work of barely motivated teenagers. Five hours he could almost say were wasted. But such was the life of Edward Lancer.

The man yawned in exhaustion before rubbing his eyes with more passion than he had used to correct the horrible essays. He had an itch on them that was constantly bothering him. Not to mention that forsaken shiver on his lower eyelid. Myriam, the school nurse, had told him that perhaps he was suffering from stress and lack of vitamins. He could have guessed the first part without her help though.

As he allowed himself to relax against the comfy chair, he chanced a glance to the last paper he corrected. Being completely honest with himself, such badly written essay should only score 45 points, and that was being generous. Months ago, there would have been no way Lancer would have forgiven such a crime against the language, but unfortunately, this wasn't months ago, and he wasn't cruel enough to do that. He brought the paper up with a hand, his lips forming a tight line. Alexis was one of his best literature students. He wasn't an 'A-lister', nor a complete 'nobody' as the kids loved to qualify themselves, he was just a good student whose forte was English. Reading his essays had been —once upon a time— one of Lancer's few joys in life. But now…

Grumbling to himself, the teacher left the paper back in its place. Alexis was only one of many cases. So many students were failing so badly nowadays. Regardless of the subject, the teens weren't able to perform to the level they used to.

Alexis, like many others, were sighted sleeping in class, walking nervously in the halls, and hiding during gym. Soon, their scores began to fall, and it became obvious exhaustion was mostly the main reason for it. As a matter of fact, Lancer could find at least three places in the teen's essay where you could see evidence of the boy falling asleep while writing. He knew his student had the ability, but he wasn't able to exploit it properly given the circumstances, and quite frankly, the teacher couldn't blame him.

So, about two weeks ago, the teachers had a reunion in which they shared their views on the situation and decided that they will try to be more lenient while scoring their students' work, this of course, placed the kids much at the mercy of each tutor, but truth was, that compared to the normal strict method, this was the only way to not end up failing the majority of the student body.

Lancer groaned as he passed his hands over his bald head, he could hear the sirens going off outside his apartment. His fingertips began massaging his temples in an attempt to calm his anxiousness down. Part of his brain tried to ignore the sound completely, while the other part wondered if Ms. Grey was out at this time of the night, hoping dearly that she wouldn't get hurt, after all, tomorrow was school day. Valerie had the bad habit of coming to school regardless of how wounded she was, which is, of course, a constant motive of concern for her father and her teachers. Another groan escaped his tight lips. If only things were like they used to be…

If only he had to worry for the performance of counted students instead of almost his whole class. If only he could go to school reading a book without worrying to take cover at the first movement from a shadow or a cry. If only he could feel as relatively safe as he used to think he was.

Ah… the good times. Getting to school early, going into the library and taking a few books for his own enjoyment before heading to his office to read till classes started. Going through the halls, saluting his favorite students, trying his best to stop Mr. Baxter from making too much hassle while keeping the pretence of obeying the directing board's order of not harming the football team's image, getting to class and fighting with his young audience for attention. They would barely even care, but he would still try and impart them some kind of education. So he would write on the chalkboard —he wanted a white one, because he was slightly allergic to the chalk powder— and proceed to read from the book that they had to study, and then, the door would open and…

"Daniel…"

He mumbled softly, his eyes roaming almost unconsciously to the top drawer of his desk. A trembling hand moved against his will to the rusty handle. Before he even noticed it, he had taken the sole object that lay within the drawer and held it in his tired hands. An essay, written in curly —and slightly messy— handwriting. A sigh escaped his mouth, trying to convey all of his disappointment as he looked at the few words he had circled in red. Only two in the, otherwise, impeccable work. It was shame he never got to give it back to the boy.

How long had it been since he last corrected one of his peculiar student's essays? How long since he saw that strangely delicate way of writing —seriously, what teenage kid still wrote in calligraphy? How long since the boy entered his classroom with a less than convincing excuse for his blatant interruption?

He had to rub his eyes once more for they were getting a little foggy.

It wasn't really strange; he thought to himself, that he had a special place in his heart for the Fenton boy. One reserved for those students that he would never be able to forget, regardless of how many years had gone by since they graduated. Daniel had potential, great potential, and Lancer knew the kid could be just as bright as his sister if he only applied himself a little more. The only difference between siblings was that Daniel wasn't properly motivated. He didn't work most of the time. He was always daydreaming, leaving class, or not even appearing at all. Something was wrong with that boy. Probably bullying and self esteem issues.

Lancer sighed as he looked around his apartment. Daniel had been getting better. In the first period of the year he went from a C student to a B one. He WAS overcoming whatever it was that was happening to him. Lancer knew, he knew his student would make it. He was so glad that he even made a bet with mr. Falluca, that by the end of the year, Daniel would be an A student. He never got to know…

They say Mr. Fenton was the first casualty. That they should have realized something was wrong after the boy suddenly disappeared. Only a week after Daniel vanished from the face of the earth, the Guys In White came into the city and slowly, but surely, they became a regular part of their daily life —a very annoying part of their daily life. The day the boy was declared dead…

His eyes felt a little irritated, but he blamed it on his tired sight, working with almost no light but a small lamp would probably make the measurement for his glasses grow.

Anyway, the declaration of death of Daniel Fenton was the first big blow to Amity Park. There was no body, and the official story was that a ghost kidnapped the boy and, basically, destroyed him. Why? Why would a ghost do that? They say the Fenton's were witnesses, but it's only a rumor. Mr. And Mrs. Fenton never made any statement, but the death of their son hit them hard. After a few weeks of frenetic search, the couple simply went home and locked themselves up in there. Just out of the blue they gave up on looking for the boy, and two months later they declared him dead. Why?

But in a town such as Amity, where everyone was by default considered a bit of a loon by any outsiders, rumors had a way of getting out of hand. Some people said that the Fenton boy had insulted a ghost to impress a member of the cheerleader squad, and that he got retaliation for his foolish act. Others said that Daniel was made the target for ghosts because of his parents' job. Some even said that a serial killer probably took the boy as victim because nobody would think of a murderer being free when they could easily blame everything on ghosts. Lancer would admit that it was one very convincing theory.

And then, there was that one theory that made a lot of the children and faculty members flinch every time they mentioned it.

Suicide.

Lancer shook his head trying to dispel the chills that filled his body at the idea. It was the most popular theory amongst the kids —probably, because they didn't want to believe a ghost really murdered their class mate. But everyone in Casper high knew that mentioning this in the hallways was taboo. If Jazmine, Samantha or Valerie ever heard you say that, you could be sure you wouldn't be walking straight for the whole day. And that was a very strange behavior for Ms. Fenton at least… but still a very understandable one. Lancer hated to admit it thought, but he could see why so many students believed in this possibility.

Daniel was —afterall— the bottom line of the food chain in Casper High. The 'Freakiest' guy in school, because he wasn't part of any other social group. Foley was a techno genius, Manson was a goth/activist/ and secret millionaire, Grey was martial artist with knowledge of dealing with people, and Ms. Fenton was the teacher's favorite. Daniel, was only the weird boy surrounded by strange and interesting people. Not to mention, every bully's favorite punching bag.

Mr. Lancer sighed feeling the deep weight of regret settling within his chest. He had seen those wounds. He just couldn't believe his students would be the cause for all this… he couldn't accept that other kids could be hurting Daniel this much… it wasn't possible… was it?

Dash Baxter wasn't below beating someone but the wounds Daniel had… they were too much, even for Casper High's King of bullies. During the first year, it went from bad to worse, yet during the second, things seemed to calm themselves down. The boy stopped coming to school so wounded and he didn't seem so tired anymore. As his score raised so did his apparent health, even if rumors had it that the bullying was growing stronger, he still seemed to be getting better.

Was it a clever ruse? Was the boy hiding everything inside?

Some students speculated that the Fenton parents gave up on the search when they found the suicide note of their son, but didn't pronounce him dead till later because they didn't want to admit he was gone… But those were just theories.

Jazmine still came to school as normal. Each day she looked worse for the wear though. More exhausted and sad, but somehow she seemed even more determined each day. Like she wasn't going to give up … not yet. The same expression Mr. Foley and Ms. Manson held… he wondered what happened to those two as well.

No, his worry for Ms. Grey and the tragedy of Mr. Fenton was enough worry; he couldn't allow his fear to swallow him, not now.

Besides, perhaps in the end, the boy didn't even take his life…

It was in these moments of doubt and fear that Mr. Lancer found solace in his own personal theory. It was the most deranged one he had heard so far, so he never told anyone about it.

You see, if you are an avid reader like Lancer is, you eventually begin to predict the movements of the plot. By having the facts clear you may come to realize what the ending was going to be. Almost like a detective would, the reader unconsciously fights with the tacit author to prove his wit and rise in self pride by divining the answer to every mystery in the plot. But if life were to be a book, then Lancer's theory would be the biggest and most unthinkable plot twist of them all. For he had come to the conclusion that his missing student had, in some strange way, something to do with the mysterious disappearance of the local hero, Danny Phantom.

He had always thought there was something weird there. Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom. Two names pretty alike. The two were teenagers, and had similar body built… but that was that. Phantom was dressed completely differently, and had a strong and confident personality. His skin always emitted that weird ghostly aura and his eyes were so shiny, that if you were to see him in the middle of the night, you would first notice those radioactive green orbs, even before the white light of his body. Mr. Fenton was very quiet, shy and nervous; he wasn't really the kind of person that would willingly throw himself into a fight… that made no sense. But the main difference was, obviously, the fact that one of the two boys was alive and the other was dead. So… what was the connection between those two. Why did Phantom disappear almost at the same time that the Fenton boy went missing? What was going on here? Why did Fenton come to class covered in wounds? Why was he always leaving at the most unthinkable times?

Could it be? Could Mr. Fenton be…

The siren closest to his home went off at that moment, breaking his line of thought.

Groaning in exhaustion and annoyance, the middle aged man deposited the paper back in its drawer. A voice in the back of his mind told him he should give the paper to the boy's sister, at least so she could feel proud of him and smile a little… but his most greedy part didn't want to give up on the last thing he had to remember his student by. As a teacher his job was to give it back to his student if he ever were to return… no body was found, Fenton could be alive… right?

Whatever the case, it was overall a shame that the boy had to disappear just before he could give him back his paper. After all, he had gotten the highest score of the class for the first time since he came to Casper High. 95%.

Closing the drawer, he slowly stood up and stretched his tired limbs before turning off his lamp. The sirens would probably go on for hours, so he could only hope Morpheus would find his way to him at least a little before dawn.

Just another typical night in Amity Park.

* * *

No answer.

Reports lay all around his desk and covered the floor. It had been long since he had last seen his rug's green and yellow design. He had looked through the files, once, twice, so many times he couldn't really find numbers to describe them.

Why wasn't there any clue of Daniel's whereabouts?

Yes, the human society had declared the boy dead about three months ago and— unbelievably in his opinion— Maddie had accepted this as a fact. Jack, well he was just a big oaf, he giving up wasn't that difficult to imagine, but Maddie? Give up her son?! Preposterous!

A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him he was being foolish. The boy was obviously dead. No clue to his location for the past six months, no trace in the human or the ghost realm. HE was the one being a stubborn fool. Every night since the declaration of death, he had spent a long time trying to convince himself that he had to continue searching. The boy was obviously out there somewhere; probably stuck in the consequences of his own teenage idiocy… he probably needed someone to get him out of there. But… then where was he?!

Frustrated, the man pushed the pile of files to the floor, not caring that he may never be able to place each paper back in its place.

No, Daniel couldn't be gone. It was unacceptable.

Vlad would not accept it!

Never!

He wouldn't do it.

He wouldn't admit…

He couldn't admit that perhaps… perhaps…

"Perhaps I'm once again… the only one…" he mumbled to himself, but those words, so softly spoken held a weight that made the man fall to his knees. No, he couldn't be alone, not again.

Twenty years of being the only one of his species. Twenty years of having no one to call of his own kin, anyone to understand the pain and suffering that was generated by being what he was. And suddenly, Daniel appears. While he was slowly going crazy in his quest for revenge, the sole thing he had yearned for in years appears: another person like him. And this time, ironically, it was Jack's mistake again. No sane parent would build something as dangerous as that portal in their own home, less would they leave it unprotected and at the reach of their curious, silly child. No one would tell him Jack wasn't at fault for what happened to Daniel, no one, not even Daniel himself. The boy was only that: a boy; he was being a normal stupid teenager when he got himself entangled in things he shouldn't have been able to. Had he had a proper father to look after his well being that accident wouldn't have happened.

That little voice in the back of his head reminded him that Maddie also had part of the fault in this one, but he swiftly brushed the thought aside. Not even his own conscience would tarnish his beloved's image.

But, even if the boy had been an unexpected surprise, he was a very welcome one. Suddenly, his life wasn't only about sitting in his lab plotting his revenge, NO! he now had to move, to plan greater things, to bring the boy to his side, where he would be protected, where he would be accepted. But Daniel always had that little 'hero-complex' of his. The boy was acting like a child, trying to be the superhero, like there weren't enough people in tight and spandex in the world already. How silly of him. He could do so well if he only listened to reason.

Yet, Vlad never gave up. He was sure that in time, as he slowly rose to power and showed the boy his strength, Daniel would come around and notice he was right, that they were superior to the others and could do so much better than they already had. But the teen never did.

Tired of being rejected, Vlad tried to create his own perfect son, but Daniel had to intervene and freed that stupid failure of a clone, Danielle. He was devastated at first, but somehow he was also relieved. Regardless of the amount of DNA his studies had proven that cloning their species was impossible. No clone would ever be a true copy of the original. Even his perfect clone wouldn't ever rise to be as powerful, as great or as capable as the real Daniel could be. Why should he content himself with a mere shadowy copy when he could have the real deal?

So he decided to try a more aggressive approach, and predictably, Daniel answered in his own childish and reckless way. And though the child gave his best to make his life impossible, there was one thing the millionaire couldn't deny, and it was that, even thought he swore he couldn't stand that boy, and even if he found a twisted kind of pleasure in beating him up from time to time, he never hated him.

How could he?

He had waited twenty years for someone like him to appear, and Daniel was that someone. So the boy wanted to be a superhero? Then well, he shall be the villain! If he couldn't get the boy as his son, then at least he would have him as his rival. He would get to talk with someone like him, to interact with another person that could understand, even if it was in an actively aggressive way.

But, he had never realized just how much he needed those irritating interactions, not till the boy's sudden disappearance.

He thought at first that a ghost fight might have gotten a little too far and he was in the ghost zone, hiding or something. Or perhaps he had gotten severely hurt and couldn't go back home yet. But as time went by he knew something else was wrong. His parents searched for him, his friends didn't know where he was, not even his sister had any idea of his whereabouts.

He tried to disguise his concern with many selfish motives, but ultimately, he became desperate. Vlad called for a massive search of the whole ghostzone. He told Skulker to find any clue, anything, to spread the word, there will be a huge reward for anyone that gave up the boy's location.

The files began coming, but none gave him any answers. He even went to ask the Guys in White, but they hadn't seen the boy. He got so mad at their incompetence that he decided to retire his financial help to their exploits. They could go to beg money from other rich people; he wasn't going to help the group of useless imbeciles.

Almost a month since he disappeared, Vlad resigned as mayor to dedicate his whole time to the search. Interesting enough, the GiW moved in as he moved out. But he dismissed it, due to the increase of ghost attacks. Without Daniel doing his 'hero' job, the town became a battle field. They had it coming, of course. Those fools never truly appreciated all the things his little badger did for them. He even promised himself that the moment he found that boy, he would force him to stop his hero nonsense, even if he had to strap him to a chair and beat him senseless to get his point through that thick skull of his.

But he didn't find him… no matter how much he searched.

He had lost so much sleep wondering where the boy was. He was slowly drowning in his madness once again. He couldn't explain how, but having the boy close, bothering him constantly, distracting him from his own demented thoughts, had returned some life into Vlad's existence. It was something to look forward to, something to wonder about aside from revenge, loneliness and misery.

And now…

"He's got to be out there, somewhere!" he growled as his hands scratched his scalp, messing his white hair. In the back, he could almost hear the whimpering sounds of his cat, the poor animal hissed in fear as it felt its owner's anxious aura fill the room. It was an intelligent creature after all, even if it loved its master, it knew the real nature of the halfa, and didn't risk getting closer when he was so unstable.

Fingernails grasped harshly at the skin under his hair and if he had kept at it he would have surely drawn blood, but the interruption caused by the sound of a jet pack getting closer made him come to an abrupt stop. Never the one to show weakness to his employees, it took him only a second to tidy his hair and straighten up his suit, before standing and looking at the place where he knew Skulker would appear.

The hunter poked his head through the mess of files and silently asked permission to enter the room. He knew better than to simply interrupt Plasmius, especially now that he was so volatile. The halfa nodded to the ghost, who soon entered completely offering his greetings.

"This better be good, Skulker," said Vlad, all signs of his near break down completely gone from his face. The ghost nodded nervously as he took a file and handed it to his boss.

"It is, Plasmius. Technus said he found something that could be of help to find the whelp."

The businessman opened the file and his eyes widened a little as he read through it.

"Well, this surely is interesting." He mumbled as his hands ignited in pink fire burning the file to a crisp, making the hunter flinch back. "Take me to Technus, Skulker. I need to ask a few things of him."

The furious glint in his bosses eyes, told him that any reckless comment may place him in 'the danger zone'. The only true way to avoid punishment in such a case was to shut up and obey, so he did like a good minion should.

Vlad ignored his stiffened stance and transformed into his ghost form. So those government imbeciles thought they could get away with lying to him? Well, he shall show them that no one, NO ONE, lies to Vlad Plasmius unless they have a death wish.

* * *

_Time holds little meaning to those lost within nightmares, for time becomes simply another monster seeking to destroy the hope of ever waking up._

* * *

He felt completely disoriented… he had been surrounded by so much cold and then… out of nowhere…

Warmth.

So foreign, yet so familiar.

He felt like he had spent years yearning for it, and the same amount of time running from it.

Where was this warmth coming from? Was there a heater close by?

No… that wasn't exactly it. It was enveloping him, all of him. A soft sound came to his ear, the sound of a rhythmic pound, soft… pum, pum, pum… slow. So familiar, and so foreign at the same time. It was…like…

He panicked.

No, he wasn't supposed to hear that sound. There was a reason, a good reason why his body didn't have a beating heart. Wait! If a heart was beating then… this warmth was his as well. This was wrong, so wrong! He wanted back, back to the snow, back to the coldness, back to the utter silence in his chest!

Why?

Ghosts don't produce heat and they don't have beating hearts.

But he wasn't a ghost, was he?

That didn't matter, he shouldn't be more than a ghost, he wasn't more than a ghost, this was wrong, oh so wrong.

Perhaps it was his growing fear, but his body was recovering awareness faster than before. His blackened sight slowly began to clear —when had he opened his eyes?— going from complete darkness to a blurry myriad of colors dulled by the lack of light around him. So… he wasn't inside anymore? He wished he could rub his eyes to get some moisture on them, but his arms didn't answer to his commands. Yeah… that's right. It had been a while since he had actually used them, in this form at least. He wasn't used to the feeling of warm blood under his skin… it was like little bugs running all over him, all inside of him…

The nerve endings in his hands send waves of numb pain to his brain, almost like millions of small needles were pricking at his fingertips, notifying him that they were still connected to him, just out of his range of control at the moment.

So…

He wasn't contained anymore.

Then… where was he?

Blinking his eyes to try and focus anything close by, he noticed that one of his orbs seemed to stubbornly hold onto the darkness. Oh, yeah… he couldn't see with that eye. Now, when was the last time he was able to? A while ago. When was a while ago? A while before the containment, after the numbness of his living side. Around the same while that he stopped hearing with one of his ears. Yeah… around that while…

As he mused about these things he noticed the beating of his chest began to diminish. That made him less anxious, the less it beat the better, he thought. He wasn't used to this. This… living thing.

As his eye cleared he was able to notice he was in some kind of room. But it wasn't his room. In his room there was nothing but the floor and the walls and himself.

He felt something on his wrist and looked slowly down… now that he noticed it… he was sitting… how was he doing that? Wasn't he normally strapped down? There was a tube on his hand, so perhaps this was the lab … but no… he wouldn't be left free to move if he were in the lab. So where was he?

His confusion only increases when he saw a strange clothing covering his chest and a sheet keeping his lower half hidden… that was weird… they never gave him those before. What was going on?

His stomach made a soft rumble demanding some form of nutrition… now that he noticed it, his head was banging painfully, his ears were ringing, small electric currents ran from his back to his neck and he couldn't really remember where his feet were. In sum, he was completely lost.

At least it was dark, and he was alone, so that meant he was safe right? Darkness meant safety… right?

He he thought too soon.

Right at that moment, the door to the room flew open and the forms of some people appeared on it.

A scary voice whispered on his silent ear as he saw them enter the room.

"…_nowhere to escape. Welcome home Subject DP"_

And then everything went white.

* * *

Ooo

Well I hope you enjoyed this, even if it was this long. Next chapter we'll get team and Danny interaction, for real this time!

Interesting fact: The massive hysteria thing came from a story my history teacher told us once. She mentioned a case of severe mass hysteria here in Peru. Someone jumped in the middle of the central plaza and screamed about a monster called the 'saca ojos' or 'eye stealer' having attacked them in their house. Another person then screamed they also saw it. A woman I think said there was more than one. Before anyone noticed it, the whole damn district was convinced there was a monster invasion. People ran around screaming, crying, it was chaos. It appears the person that started this was under the influence of some kind of drug, but since the people around them were superstitious and had a low morale because of the economical crisis, they were particularly vulnerable to the influence of the group. This happened in the 90's I think… don't remember the exact year, but it was an awesome story XD

I want to thank my dear friend Sazdx for correcting my many horrible mistakes. If you found any error around the chapter, just know that it was a hundred times worse before she looked at it. So thank dude, you're the best!

And next chapter should be up for Monday 17, if it isn't you have my consent to pm me to complain about it… you know? Sometimes I need people to bother me a little for me to actually start working. I'm lazy… what can you do about it…

Well, see you next chapter!


	16. Note: not a chapter

**Dear readers,**

Sorry this isn't the chapter I've promised, but I've been having some physical problems and am currently almost unable to type, my hands hurt a lot when I do so I'm taking a lot longer than I thought I would. I am not sure how long it'll take me to have the next chapter up, so I won't give you a time period anymore because I tend to fail to those lately. Thanks to those of you who wrote a pm, and hope I don't disappoint you too much by making you wait longer. Now, please, don't review this chapter note, I was warned not to do this before, but I don't know another better way to communicate to all the readers. If you have something to say to me please pm me, don't review it.

Thanks for your comprehension.

Sincerely,

Daruku Janubu


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